


Primal Fervor

by Etherborn



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Don't question it he just does, Eren gets stronger with anger, Eventual BAMF Eren, F/M, Family, Rageboosts, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 38,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26082271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etherborn/pseuds/Etherborn
Summary: Since he was born, Eren Yeager always had a unique and deadly gift. In the hands of any other, it may have been considered circumstantial at best. But for Eren? It was a switch that almost never turned off.The first time he’d fought off Armin’s bullies, the boy had watched in awe, and later asked how he managed to win when it was two on one and they were bigger than him. Eren simply replied that they’d made him angry, and that Armin would be able to do the same if he wasn’t so passive. Armin had shut that notion down though, telling him with certainty that this was not how anger worked. Who knew?Rageboost Eren. AU.
Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager
Comments: 51
Kudos: 184





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don’t own Attack on Titan.

* * *

“Mikasa?” Eren repeated, as he and his dad reached the cabin in the woods they’d been venturing to. It was a routine checkup. Although the Ackermans were regular patients to the famous Dr. Yeager, they were also good friends, and it was Grisha’s hope that Eren could make friends with their daughter. 

“That’s right. She’s around your age,” Grisha answered. “Try to make friends with her, alright?”

“That depends on how she acts,” Eren replied.

“That attitude is why you only have one friend, Eren.”

The boy narrowed his eyes.  _ And I’ll take Armin over those idiots in our town any day.  _

His dad knocked on the door. He waited a moment, but there was no response. “Hmm? That’s strange. They said they’d be home.”

Eren’s brow furrowed.  _ I don’t hear footsteps. Or anything from inside.  _

“Mr. Ackerman? It’s Dr. Yeager,” Grisha said, opening the door. “Pardon the intrusion.”

He took a step inside and froze. Lying on the ground were the still, bloody forms of Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman. Grisha sucked in a breath and ran forward, kneeling to check both their pulses. 

“No good,” he whispered. “They’ve been dead for some time. Eren, do you see the girl, Mikasa anywhere?” When his son didn’t answer, he called again, urgently. “Eren!”

“No,” the boy replied, sounding almost detached. Grisha knew better though. Eren had always had a strong sense of justice, and a temper to go along with it. He was glad the ones who did this were nowhere in sight. Who knows what his son would have done?

“I see,” he sighed, getting up. “I’m going to call the Military Police and request a search party. You wait at the base of the mountain. Do you understand me, Eren?”

But Eren wasn’t listening. He continued to stare blankly at the lifeless corpses of the once happy couple, knowing their daughter was in the hands of the same murderous beasts that had done this. 

_ She’s around your age. _

Something dark and wild boiled in his blood. 

* * *

_ It’s cold… _

Mikasa lay bound on the floor as her kidnappers discussed her value like she was some rare breed of animal. It had probably been a few hours since they’d taken her, but through it all, she was barely lucid. They had killed her parents right in front of her, and she had sat there, wide-eyed and immobile, not understanding what was happening. Her mom had yelled for her to run, but she had been frozen. Was  _ still _ frozen. Even if she could muster the courage to act, what was the point? She was a child in the face of three grown men who had already shown their willingness to kill without remorse. She didn’t stand a chance.

She barely registered as the door to the men’s hideout creaked open, but her kidnappers sure did, and they gaped at the sight of the nine year old child standing in the doorway with a blank look on his face. One of them marched up to the door and yanked it open fully. 

“Hey, how did you find this place you little—”

He didn’t get to finish. The boy pulled a knife from behind his back, and with one purposeful movement, drove the blade through the man’s breastbone and into his heart. The man made a weak wheezing noise before falling to the floor with a thud, quickly bleeding out. 

The man’s accomplice stood in shock, barely believing what he’d just seen. “No way! The fuck!?”

Eren merely shut the door in front of him, the chilling look on his face daring the man to come after him. 

And come after him he did. The child abductor ran forward with his axe in hand. The kid had limited reach with the knife, and wouldn’t be able to do shit now that he’d lost the element of surprise. 

As he yanked the door open, he quickly realized how wrong he was. Before he’d come, Eren had taped another knife to a broom handle, resulting in a makeshift spear. He thrust the weapon forward, and once again pierced straight through flesh, muscle, and bone to land a lethal strike. Even then, as he fell on top of his dead victim, he kept stabbing with the other knife. 

“Die! Fucking die! This is what you deserve! Never get up again!” he screamed, as Mikasa watched him with wide eyes, shaken by the display. 

With the kidnappers sufficiently slaughtered, Eren’s fury began to subside. He forced himself to calm down as he walked over to where Mikasa lay. She didn’t deserve his rage. 

“You’re Mikasa, right?” he asked, despite already knowing. “I’m Eren. Dr. Yeager’s son. We came to your house for a checkup when I saw…” he trailed off as he cut the ropes from her wrist, reluctant to put into words the death of the girl’s parents. As Mikasa rubbed her wrists, she remembered something.

“There were three…” she said, and Eren went rigid at the words. The door opened behind them, and Mikasa turned to see her third kidnapper staring at the scene with a dangerous look in his eyes. 

Eren dove for the knife, but was kicked away before he could reach it.

“Did you do this?” the man seethed as he walked up to Eren and picked him up by the neck. “You’re dead! I’ll kill you!”

Eren glared right back at him as his hands squeezed the man’s wrists. Seemingly not caring that he was being choked, his eyes flickered over to Mikasa, who was standing frozen again.

“Fight!” he shouted, causing her eyes to widen even further. “If you win, you live! If you lose, you die! You can’t win if you don’t _ fight _ !” 

Mikasa continued to stare at him, her mind reeling.

“What are you thinking, you damn brat!?” the man shouted, not even bothering to keep Mikasa in sight. He didn’t even consider the possibility that the scared, passive girl they’d taken would listen to Eren. 

Eren’s rage had built itself up again. If this man managed to choke him to death, Mikasa would be taken again. This would have all been for nothing. 

“I’m...not gonna die!” he growled, his grip tightening on the man’s arms. As he did so, the man’s grip on his neck began to loosen, the circulation in his wrists being cut off. “You won’t kill me, you filthy fuck!”

Two loud cracks filled the air, and the man screamed. He stumbled back and let go of Eren, who fell to the floor. He stared at his arms in horror. The bones in his wrists had been crushed to powder, leaving his hands useless.

“What...what are you!?” he screamed. Before he could back away any further, a shout came from behind him, and he barely had time to turn his head around before Mikasa drove a knife through his back and into his heart. He fell to the floor. 

As Eren caught his breath, he looked to Mikasa, who had dropped the knife and now met his gaze. As they stared at each other, both of their eyes seemed to say the same thing. 

They had won. They would live. 

* * *

When the Military Police arrived, they stared in amazement at the grizzly scene. 

“What do you make of this?” one asked as they examined the three bodies. 

“All stabbed, straight through the heart. One from the back, and the other two through the sternum,” he summarized. “Those kids did this?”

As they turned the bodies over, the other one noticed something. Both of the man’s wrists had been crushed to a pulp, blood still oozing from his cooling arms.

“And...and this?”

This time, no analysis was forthcoming.

* * *

Outside, Grisha Yeager knelt in front of his son, scanning him for injuries. He found nothing serious. “Eren. I told you to wait at the base of the mountain. Do you realize what you’ve done?”

“I put down two rabid animals! They were beasts in human form!”

“Eren!” Grisha scolded.

“There was no choice! The Military Police wouldn’t have gotten here in time!”

“Even so, you were just lucky, Eren! You put yourself directly in harm’s way!”

Eren’s rage bled away again. “But...I wanted to save her as soon as I could,” he said.

Grisha’s eyes widened, and then he sighed. He stood up and looked over at Mikasa, who stood to the side and hadn’t said a word since he arrived.

“Mikasa, do you remember me?” he asked. “I used to visit your house a lot when you were little.”

“Dr. Yeager,” Mikasa whispered. “Where do I go from here? It’s cold. I have...nowhere I can go home to now.”

Eren stared at her for a moment, and then walked forward, unwrapping a crimson red scarf from his neck. He threw it around her, causing her to look up in surprise as he finished wrapping it clumsily around her neck and head. “You can have this,” he said gently. “It’s warm, right?”

Her hand rose up to brush the fabric. “It’s warm,” she agreed.

“Mikasa, come live with us,” Grisha offered, causing her to stare up at him in surprise. “You’ve been through a lot. You need rest.” 

Mikasa’s gaze returned to Eren, silver eyes wide and hopeful, as if she was asking for his approval. 

“What is it?” Eren asked, reaching inside her coat and grabbing her wrist. “Come on, let’s go home.”

There were tears in her eyes. “Yeah,” she whimpered. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Carla Yeager was understandably shocked when her husband and son returned home with a nine year old girl and said they were adopting her. After hearing what happened though, she welcomed Mikasa with open arms and a loving embrace, apologizing for what she had to go through, and promising she’d always have home with them. 

And then she proceeded to pull on Eren’s ear.

“How could you be so reckless?” Carla scolded.

“Ow! Mom, stop! You’re embarrassing me!” he shouted. “And I’d do it again if it meant saving Mikasa!” 

Eren didn’t notice the blush that appeared on the girl’s cheeks when she heard that statement. Carla did, however, and a mischievous smile spread across her face.

“Oh, is that so? So you’re saying you’re always going to protect Mikasa, then?” she asked, observing the girl for any reaction. 

“Huh!? She can protect herself now!” Eren claimed, having no sense of tact as usual. “She’s strong! She knows she has to fight for herself from now on!” He turned back towards Mikasa. “Right!?”

Surprised and slightly awed, Mikasa nodded. “Y-yeah!”

“See?” Eren asked, and Carla didn’t know whether to be impressed or dismayed by how oblivious he was. “But...if she ever needs help, I’ll still fight for her!”

Hmm. Maybe not as hopeless as she thought. Carla smiled. “I see,” she said. “Mikasa, you can have the guest room down the hall from Eren’s.” The girl nodded in thanks, humbled by how easily she’d been accepted. Eren grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs, and Mikasa followed readily behind him.

_ They’re so adorable.  _

* * *

Eren couldn’t sleep that night. He kept tossing and turning, having nightmares about what he’d seen that day. In one of them, the lifeless eyes of Mikasa’s parents stared into his soul, accusing him.  _ You should have gotten here sooner,  _ they seemed to say. But the worst one he had was of Mikasa herself. He dreamt that he hadn’t gotten to her on time, and he watched from above like an unwilling, all knowing observer as they took her away, and she sobbed silently in despair. 

Eren awoke with a gasp, shaking in fury. He realized his hand was aching, and he looked down to find he had grasped the wood beneath his mattress so hard that he had crushed it in his sleep. 

It was nothing new. He always gained inhuman strength when he was enraged. It had taken him years to realize that this was not the case for other people. The first time he’d fought off Armin’s bullies, the boy had watched in awe, and later asked how he managed to win when it was two on one and they were bigger than him. Eren simply replied that they’d made him angry, and that Armin would be able to do the same if he wasn’t so passive. Armin had shut that notion down though, telling him with certainty that this was  _ not _ how anger worked. Who knew?

Eren’s breaths evened out, and he lied back down, fruitlessly trying to fall back asleep, when the door to his room opened. 

Even in the dark, he could make out Mikasa’s small form as she stood hesitantly in the doorway. Eren sat up.

“You can come in,” he said. She walked in slowly. He realized the scarf he’d given her earlier that day was still around her neck. Was she sleeping with it? Weirdo. It wasn’t cold in the house.

“Did I wake you up?” he asked. He didn’t think he’d made that much sound during his nightmares, but he couldn’t really know for sure. 

She shook her head. “I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

_ Oh. Duh.  _ If he’d had trouble sleeping, of course she would too. She’d been at the center of the day’s events. She’d lost her parents…

Feeling something strange settle in his gut, Eren scooted over to the wall. The bed was wide enough for both of them.

“You can sleep here if you want.”

She hesitated again, but then slowly lifted the covers and lay down beside him. She seemed stiff, and he wondered if she would still have trouble sleeping. But gradually, she relaxed.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out. Her head turned towards him.

“What?” she asked, sounding puzzled.

“I made a fuss today,” he said, the words pouring out from him as he stared at the ceiling. “I didn’t want to visit you guys. I wanted to spend the day with Ar—a friend of mine, instead. My dad got delayed because he wanted me to come, and we ended up getting there later.” At some point during his confession, a tear rolled down his cheek. “If I hadn’t done that, maybe your parents would still be…”

He could feel her gaze on him, though he dared not meet it even in the dark. After a moment of silence, she turned her body fully towards him and scooted closer. When he felt her face rest on his shoulder, he sucked in a breath.

“Don’t think like that,” she told him. “You couldn’t have known.”

“Still…”

“What’s important is you did come. You saved me,” she whispered. “And I’ll...never forget that.”

Eren let out the breath he’d been holding. As the day’s burden was lifted from his shoulders, he felt exhausted. His eyes closed as he felt his new friend’s breath against his neck, each one reassuring him that she was alive. That she was free. 

And he fell into a dreamless sleep. 

Mikasa stayed awake for a while longer as Eren’s breathing slowed. She had kept her own troubled thoughts to herself, not wanting to burden him with them. His presence was enough. She had been having nightmares of her parents’ deaths. But she had also dreamt of Eren’s. In her twisted dreams, that last man had choked him to death before she’d mustered the courage to strike. She’d rushed to him, cradling his head, only to realize he wasn’t breathing.

It was because of her. She hadn’t been quick enough to tell him there was a third kidnapper. Hadn’t been quick enough to act when he’d called out to her. He’d rushed into danger for her, and she couldn’t even do the same until it was too late. 

Upon waking, she had gone to his room and opened his door, needing to reassure herself that he was still there. She’d been surprised to find him awake. 

She would do better. She would be strong now, like he said. Her eyes closed to the beautiful sight of Eren’s peaceful face. 

_ From now on, I’ll protect you too. _

  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

_ “Please, don’t do this.” _

_ “I’m sorry, Mikasa.” _

“Eren.”

His eyes snapped open. Mikasa was standing over him as he leaned against the tree he’d taken a nap against. 

“Mikasa?” he mumbled. “When did you grow your hair out?”

Mikasa blinked at him, and then giggled. “You’re still half asleep, aren’t you?” 

He stared at her as his memories of the dream vanished from his mind like smoke. “I’m sorry,” he blurted out.

She looked puzzled. “For what?” she asked. 

“I...don’t know.”

Mikasa frowned. “Eren...why are you crying?” she asked.

He reached up to his face and realized there were tears in his eyes. He trembled. 

“I don’t know.”

* * *

“It was like I was having a really long dream,” Eren said as they walked home. “But I can’t remember it now.”

“Was it a nightmare?”

“Parts if it were,” Eren said, surprised he was able to answer that. “But some of it felt good, too. It’s weird.”

Mikasa hummed. 

Soon they ran into Hannes, who was drinking with his friends again. Eren commented on this, disgusted, and they laughed. 

“You’re not even prepared to fight the Titans to begin with, are you?” he muttered, disappointed. 

“Nope,” Hannes admitted shamelessly.

“Then call yourselves the Wall Construction Corps instead of the Garrison!”

“Hey, that’s not a bad idea!”

Eren ended up stomping away angrily, Mikasa eying him out of the corner of her eye. 

“Stupid, lazy construction workers,” he muttered. “Living like cattle…”

“Eren, you should give up on joining the Survey Corps,” Mikasa spoke up, as if she’d read his mind. 

“What? No way! How will I be able to see the outside world if I don’t?” he replied.

“You won’t.”

Before Eren could respond, the sound of a bell rang through the air. “The Survey Corps is back! Let’s go, Mikasa!”

He led her by the hand down the streets, where a crowd was gathering around the returning scouts. Eren made eye contact with a squad leader, a blonde man with a severe expression, and smiled in awe. The man averted his gaze, looking down. 

It was then that he noticed the state the others were in. Most of them were bandaged, and their numbers seemed too few. 

“Another massacre.” a bystander said.

“Over a hundred got sent out, and less than twenty made it back.”

Eren watched, disheartened, as the brave men faced the crowd and the results of their failure. 

“What good are they, anyway? Seems like our taxes are going towards feeding those damn Titans,” one man said in dismay. 

A stick hit the man in the back, knocking him flat against the ground. 

Sitting up from his prone position, he saw Eren holding up a stick with a scowl.

  
“What the hell, you damn brat!?” 

Before Eren could respond, Mikasa grabbed him by the arm. She struggled to pull him away, as was usually the case when he was angry. But since his anger wasn’t directed at her, he ended up getting dragged along. 

“Let go, Mikasa! Didn’t you hear how he was talking about those dead scouts? How can you not be angry!” 

Mikasa ignored him and threw him bodily against a wall, knocking their gathered firewood everywhere. 

“What the hell’s your problem!?” Eren snapped. It didn’t hurt that much, but that wasn’t the issue. Mikasa was supposed to back him up on these things!

“Eren. Are you still dead set on joining the Survey Corps?”

Eren very nearly flinched. He didn’t answer, instead turning his gaze to the ground. “Help me pick these up,” he muttered, gathering the firewood.

A pained expression crossed Mikasa’s face, before she schooled it and knelt down to help him.

* * *

It had been a full year since Mikasa had come to live with them. In that time, she had gotten strong, just like he told her to. A lot stronger than he expected, in fact. Stronger than him even, unless he was really angry. 

Not that he cared. She was one of his best friends, so he was glad she could take care of herself. 

_ Would be nice if she wouldn’t throw me into walls though. _

* * *

“You two are late,” Carla said as they stepped through the door.

“We took a detour,” Eren said. It wasn’t a lie.

As Grisha got ready to leave to see some patients, Mikasa spoke up.

  
“Eren wants to join the Survey Corps,” she said.

Eren gaped at her. “Mikasa, what the hell!?” 

This predictably resulted in an argument with his mom, at least until Grisha told her there was no way to hold back human curiosity. He offered to show Eren what was in the basement when he got back, leaving the boy ecstatic.

“I won’t let you,” Carla said sternly, once Grisha had left. “You’re not doing something that foolish while I’m around.”

“Foolish? What’s foolish is living like caged birds all our lives!” 

“Mikasa,” Carla said quietly. “Go upstairs for a minute.”

Mikasa looked reluctant, but obediently climbed the steps up to her room. 

Eren stared stubbornly at the floor.

“Eren, why do you think Mikasa told us your secret?”

“Hell if I know,” Eren grumbled.

“It’s because she constantly worries about you. You’re always getting yourself into trouble, and she always has to pull you out of it.”

“I can handle myself,” Eren defended. “I always did, even before she showed up. Now the fights just don’t last as long.”

“Even so. You once told me you would protect her. Now, it’s the other way around.”

Eren flushed. “It’s not like she needs my help anymore,” he mumbled. “She hasn’t in a long time.”

“I have a feeling that one day, she will,” Carla said calmly. “And I don’t want her to get hurt because you were too caught up in your rage to see it. Promise me that won’t happen.”

Eren stared up at her, thoughtful. What started as an argument had turned him pensive. He nodded. “I promise.”

Carla sighed. “We’ll talk more about your future another time,” she decided, taking what victories she could. “Mikasa, you can come down now!” 

It was a moment before Carla heard footsteps coming from halfway down the stairs. She smiled inwardly. The girl wasn’t that subtle in her eavesdropping. As the two ran out the door, she frowned. 

_ If that boy ever did join the Survey Corps, Mikasa would follow right behind him. I won’t let them do that. Either of them.  _

* * *

“What’s wrong, heretic? Not so tough without your bodyguards here, are you? Why don’t you hit back?”

“No way! I won’t stoop to your level!” Armin shouted, face to face with one of his long time tormentors. 

“What!?” 

“It’s because you know I’m right that you have to resort to violence! You’re basically admitting defeat!”

“Shut it, you little—”

“Hey! Let go of him, you bastards!”

The three kids turned to see one of the aforementioned bodyguards running towards them. 

“Crap! It’s Eren!”

“Calm down! There’s three of us. If we surround him, we can win!”

That sentiment vanished entirely when a familiar girl rounded the corner, running behind Eren with a dark look on her face.

“Shit! It’s Mikasa! Run for the hills!” All three of them turned and fled, leaving Armin on the ground. 

“Tch. They ran away,” Eren grumbled. He considered giving chase and kicking their asses. It wouldn’t be the first time. But he decided to check on Armin instead. 

“Are you okay, Armin?” he asked, holding a hand out.

Armin stared at the ground, then got up without taking his hand. “I can stand on my own…”

“Uh, right.”

* * *

“Dammit, why does everyone shun us for wanting to see the outside world?” Eren asked, skipping a rock across the pond they were sitting beside. “If they want to be cowards, that’s fine, but let us do what we want with our lives!”

“You can’t,” Mikasa said, causing Eren’s gaze to snap to her. “Absolutely not.”

“That’s not up to you!” Eren replied. “And that reminds me, thanks a lot for ratting me out!”

“I never agreed to keep it a secret,” she said. 

“So, how’d they take it?” Armin asked.

“Well, they obviously weren’t thrilled."

“Naturally. But just because we’ve been safe inside the walls for a hundred years, doesn’t mean we will be forever. They could break through today, for all we know.”

Just then, they heard what sounded like an explosion coming from the outer wall. The three ran out of the alley, looked towards the wall, and stared. There was a large, red hand grasping the top of the wall. 

“That wall’s fifty meters high!” Armin shouted in shock.

A head peaked over the wall, the same ugly red as its hand. 

“It’s one of them,” Eren said, staring in horror. “A Titan!”

The 60 meter colossal brought its foot back.

And kicked in the wall.

The debris was huge. Chunks of stone, some as large as houses, flew through Shiganshina, crushing humans and homes alike. 

“It...made a hole in the wall!” Armin said. “Come on, we have to run! Before the Titans get in!” 

But Eren ran the  _ wrong way _ . Armin desperately called out to him, but he was ignored.

“Those chunks landed near our house! Mom’s still home!” Eren shouted. 

Mikasa gasped, breaking out of her stupor, and ran after him. 

“Eren! Mikasa!” Armin shouted after them. 

_ There’s no way it was hit. When I round this corner, it’ll be there like always,  _ Eren thought, unable to comprehend the possibility that their home had been destroyed. 

He rounded the corner. 

And a part of him broke.

_ “Mom!”  _ he shouted, running up to what was left of their house. Carla was trapped beneath a support beam, one far too large to be moved by human hands. 

“Eren, is that you?” she asked faintly.

Without a word, Eren and Mikasa both grabbed the beam, straining to lift it off of her. It didn't budge. 

Soon, they could see giant figures lurking over the rooftops.

“The Titans have gotten in, haven’t they?” Carla asked. “Eren! Take Mikasa and get out of here!”

“Gladly! Once we get  _ you _ out!” His hands were bloodied from his fruitless attempts, and the same could be said for Mikasa. 

“My legs have been crushed. Even if you get me out, I can’t run,” she said shakily. “You understand, don’t you!”

“I’ll carry you!” he said, stubborn as always. 

“Why can’t you ever listen to me!?” Carla shouted. “You told me you’d protect Mikasa if she ever needed it! This is that time, Eren!”

“We can’t leave you!” Mikasa denied immediately. She would  _ not _ be the reason she lost her family again. 

“Mikasa!” Carla cried.

“NO!” 

“If you two don’t run, all three of us will be eaten!” Carla shouted. 

As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt the rubble shift. She stared, dumbfounded, as the beam she was trapped under began to lift into the air, Eren standing with it as it rose.

“ _ Fuck. That! _ ” the boy screamed. “Mikasa, pull her out!”

Mikasa, to her credit, didn’t even hesitate. She let go of her side, grabbed Carla by the arms, and pulled her out fully from underneath the beam.

Eren let it drop, and it crashed to the ground with a shudder. He fell to his knees, chest heaving from the exertion. 

“Eren,” Mikasa whispered in awe.

The boy didn’t stop to celebrate his accomplishment. True to his word, once he caught his breath, he grabbed Carla and positioned him carefully over his shoulder, making sure not to jostle her legs. 

Fully intending to carry her. 

“Let’s go!” he said, and he and Mikasa both ran. 

Along the way, they crossed paths with a familiar face.

“Hannes!?” 

“Are you kids alright!? Armin said you ran  _ towards _ the wall!” 

“Never mind that now! We need to get out of here!” Eren said. 

They heard footsteps shake the ground.

All four of them turned to see a Titan that was at least 10 meters tall, walking forward slowly as it smiled eerily at them. 

Hannes took one look at it and paled. He grabbed Mikasa and threw her over his shoulder. “Eren, grab my arm!” 

Eren did so, hanging onto Hannes with Carla in his other arm, and Hannes activated his 3D Maneuver Gear. The Titan, seeing them try to escape its clutches, leapt forward.

It crashed to the ground as the group of four sailed away through the air, propelled by hooks and gas. 

Eren strained to keep hold of Hannes. He felt like his arm would pop off at any moment, but the rage that lingered in him at the thought of them all becoming a meal allowed him to keep hold. Hannes bared his teeth in pain from the death grip Eren had on him. 

After what seemed like ages, they reached a rooftop that was high enough out of the Titans’ reach that they’d be safe. Eren laid his mother down with shaky arms, and then collapsed. 

“We...made it!” Eren gasped, and Mikasa nodded in disbelief. 

Eren turned towards where Carla lay, breathing heavily, unable to sit up. “Mom, just wait. We’ll get you some help. You’ll be ok!”

She didn’t answer. As Hannes turned towards her, his eyes widened. 

“She’s...too pale!” he said. 

Eren’s eyes snapped toward him. “What?” 

Hannies knelt down, placing a shaking hand above her upper stomach area, and pressed down lightly. 

Carla gasped in pain, and he retracted his hand as if it burned. “Internal bleeding,” he rasped, staring down at his long time friend, stricken.

“No! That can’t be!” Eren shouted. “It was just her legs!”

Hannes brought his palms to his face, closing his eyes in grief. 

Eren looked back at Carla, and finally took in how bad she looked. “Mom…?” he asked in a small voice. “Come on. We saved you. So why!” 

“Hannes...thank you.” she whispered, barely able to speak. “For saving them.”

Hannes merely nodded, tears running down his face.

“Eren. Mikasa,” she said, raising one shaky hand into the air. The two kids both grabbed onto it. “Thank you for not leaving me. But from now on, your job is to protect each other. Remember your promise, Eren. Both of you...you have to keep each other safe.”

“We will! And we’ll keep you safe too, Mom! So just hang on!”

Carla smiled faintly. “You’re such good kids,” she said, voice beginning to strain. “For as long as it lasted, it was a pleasure being a mother to both of you.”

“No…” Mikasa whimpered as she said her goodbyes. “Mom…”

Carla’s smile widened. In the year she’d spent in their household, Mikasa had never once called her that until now. 

Her eyes flickered to Eren one more time. “I love you…” she whispered. And then her breaths ceased. 

“Mom?” Eren said, eyes wide. 

Her hand fell from their grasp, landing on her chest. 

“Mom!?” She didn’t answer, her eyes staring up at him, unblinking. 

“ _ Mom! _ ”

* * *

_ On that day, humanity received a grim reminder. We lived in fear of the Titans. Disgraced to reside within the cages we called walls.  _


	3. Chapter 3

Eren stared blankly ahead, unresponsive to his surroundings. Hannes had dropped them off with Armin at the gate of Wall Maria, and now they were getting ready to board the refugee boat.

When an announcement had been made that the gate would soon close, they had been forced to leave his mom’s body behind. They couldn’t even bury her. 

“Dammit,” he hissed, staring down at his bloody hands. He made a fist and punched the ground he was sitting on, resulting in a crack in the concrete and bloody knuckles. “DAMMIT!” He raised his fist to punch it again, wanting to release his rage on something, but Mikasa caught his arm. He sat, trembling, as she brought his hand into her lap, preventing him from further injuring himself. He looked up at her tear stained face, and broke down. 

Sobs racked his body as Mikasa brought her arms around him, and he clutched her like a lifeline. “Why?” he asked. “We should have been able to save her. We even got her out of there...so why?”

_ Because the world is cruel. You can’t save everyone.  _ Mikasa didn’t tell him this though, instead just holding him. 

“They’re boarding the next boat,” Armin whispered. As the call sounded for the next group to board, the three of them got to their feet and walked toward the boat. As they boarded and the boat pulled away from the harbor, all three of them knew they were saying goodbye to their home. Of everything they knew. 

Suddenly, they heard shouts coming from the gate, and their eyes widened in horror as a 15 meter Titan crashed right through it, bulldozing its way through the stone. It was covered in armor all across its body, and had specifically targeted the gate with purpose.

“What kind of Titan is that?” Armin muttered. First the never before seen 60 meter, and now this?

Eren stared at it in rage, his hands clenching.  _ One day… _ he promised silently.  _ I’m not strong enough now, but one day...I’ll show you the same despair.  _

“I’m gonna destroy them,” he snarled, as he heard the screams of those who had yet to evacuate in the distance. “Every last one. I’ll wipe them off the face of this world!”

“Eren…” Armin murmured, as Mikasa stared at him in worry and anguish. 

“Mikasa, Armin. When I’m old enough, I’m going to train in the military. I’m going to join the Survey Corps, get strong enough to fight them, and then see the outer world with my own eyes!”

Mikasa’s gaze lowered. 

“I’m going too,” Armin said. 

“And me as well,” Mikasa said.

“Huh? Both of you? You don’t have to!”

“Going outside the walls has always been my dream as well,” Armin insisted.

“And we made a promise to your mom that we’d look out for each other. That means we have to stick together.”

Eren nodded. “We’ll go together, then. All three of us.”

* * *

In the two years that followed, the trio struggled to survive. They were orphans in an unforgiving world. Fear prevailed on the streets, and kindness was in short supply wherever they went. Through it all, the three stuck together. They were the last remnants of the life they’d lost, one that they would never get back. Whatever food, water, and supplies they managed to obtain were split between the three. If one of them needed more to make it through the day, the other two would share what they had without question. If one of them was to go hungry, they all were to go hungry. They would rise and fall together. 

That wasn’t to say they didn’t have their fair share of arguments. Eren had seemed to have become driven by rage after the Titans invaded, and sometimes it worried his two friends. But to survive their harsh life, he learned to channel that anger, and made an effort not to let it rule him. 

Finally came the day when they were old enough to enroll for military training. For better or worse, whatever fate awaited them, they would share it. 

* * *

Their head instructor was a severe looking man named Keith Shadis. Eren thought he looked familiar, but couldn’t think of where he’d seen him before. 

The man stopped right in front of Armin. “You! What’s your name, Maggot?”

“Armin Arlert, Sir! From the district of Shiganshina!”

“What a dumb name! Why would your parents name you something like that?”

“It was actually my grandfather, Sir!”

“Why is a runt like you even here, Arlert!?”

“To help humanity achieve victory!”   
  


“That’s wonderful to hear! We can feed you to the Titans as bait!”

Eren resisted the urge to speak up on behalf of his friend. He knew this was the usual treatment cadets received. They needed to ensure that new enlistments were serious. It was nothing personal against Armin. 

“And you? What do they call you, fool!?”

“Thomas Wagner from the Trost district, Sir!”

And so it went. Shadis continued down the line, intimidating every new cadet he spoke to. Eren noticed he was skipped over, though. So was Mikasa, actually. Was it because they had already knew the terror the Titans wrought upon humanity? WIth the theory in mind, Eren paid close attention to the others that were passed over. There was a brown haired girl with freckles, a short blonde haired girl with blue eyes who looked utterly bored, a tall brown haired boy who looked sad but determined, and a well built one who oozed confidence. 

Shadis eventually got to a boy with light brown hair, who introduced himself as Jean Kirschtein from Trost.

“And why are you here, Cadet?”

Jean smiled. “To join the Military Police and live a comfortable life in the interior, Sir!”

Eren twitched.  _ Well, I’ll give him points for honesty, if nothing else. _

Shadies headbutted the cadet, and Eren withheld a snort as Jean fell to the ground, clutching his head.

“Who told you to kneel, Cadet!? If you can’t even handle this much, forget about joining the Military Police!” 

“You next, buzz-cut! Who are you!?” 

“Connie Springer, Sir!” 

Shadis lifted him off the ground by his head before he could say the rest. “Your salute is backwards, Connie Springer! Is your heart on the right side of your body, punk? Huh!?”

Shadis was interrupted by the sound of a loud crunch. And he turned to see a brown haired girl eating a potato. He stared at her for a moment, as if unable to comprehend what he was seeing, before dropping Connie to the ground.

“Hey, you. What do you think you’re doing?” he asked the girl. 

Her eyes flitted back and forth as if she hadn’t heard him, and she took another bite of the potato, making the other cadets around her increasingly nervous. 

“Hey, I’m talking to you!” Shadis shouted, getting right up in her face. “Who the fuck are you!?”

The girl hastily swallowed and saluted with the potato still in hand. “Sasha Blouse from Dauper village, Sir!”

“Sasha Blouse. What is that in your hand?” Shadis asked. 

“A steamed potato, Sir! I got it from the mess hall!”

“So you stole it. Why? Why eat it now of all times?”

“They’re best eaten hot, Sir. I thought the best course of action would be to eat it right away.”

“No, that reasoning is beyond me. Why are you eating a potato?” 

Sasha’s brow furrowed. “Are you asking why people eat potatoes in general, Sir?”

Absolute silence. Shadis stared as the rest of the cadets gaped at her audacity. Even Eren’s mouth parted in surprise as he watched the proceedings.  _ This girl is an airhead! And I can’t help but admire her for it! _

Sasha looked as if she’d suddenly come to a realization. She broke what remained of the potato in two, and offered one part to Shadis.

“Tch. Here, Sir. You can have half.”

Shadis looked like he’d just discovered an ancient species far more mysterious than the Titans could ever be. He stared down at the potato portion in his hand, which was really more like a fifth. “Half…?” he repeated, dumbfounded.

Sasha smiled brightly at him, potato crumbs covering her face.

* * *

“Man, Potato Girl’s still at it. Look at her go.”

Eren and Armin stood against a railing as they watched Sasha run laps. Next to them stood Connie, as well as a tall, freckled boy named Marco and a black haired girl named Mina.

“Hell of a first day,” Eren commented. 

“It’s funny though,” Connie continued. “She barely reacted to being told to run laps until she dropped, but when Shadis told her she’d miss dinner, she looked like she was about to faint.”

Eren nearly smiled. “Well, she’s got spirit, that’s for sure. Good thing too, she’ll probably need it. We all will.”

Connie turned to him curiously. “Come to think of it, you never told us where you were from, Eren.”

Eren smiled. “Shiganshina, same as Armin,” he said proudly, patting his friend on the shoulder. 

“Seriously? So does that mean you both saw it? The Colossal Titan?” 

“Hey, don’t just bring that up!” Marco hissed.

“No, it’s ok,” Eren said, looking at the ground. “Yeah, we saw it. It’s not a day we like talking about though.”

Whoever passed on the news that he’d seen colossal apparently didn’t mention that preference, however. Later, Eren was bombarded with questions, and to his annoyance, some were doubting if he actually saw it at all.

“For the last time, yes, I saw it,” Eren said as he tried to eat his soup. 

“Whoa, you’re serious? How tall was it?”

“Tall enough to stick its head over the outer wall.”

“Wait, I heard it stepped over the wall completely!”

“No, it wasn’t that big,” Eren refuted. 

“And what about the Armored Titan? What was it like?” 

“Is that what they’re calling it?” Eren muttered. “In size alone, it was just a 15 meter. But it was covered in armored plates all over. No cannon could even halt it in its tracks. I doubt even 3D Maneuver Gear would do anything to it. It charged right through a stone gate.”

The others looked disturbed. “But then...how do you even beat a Titan like that?”

Eren looked down in thought. “We’ll find a way. We have to,” he said, fists clenched. 

Marco seemed to sense his discomfort. "Come on everyone. Enough questions, alright?”

“Sorry man,” Connie said. “We didn’t mean to bring back those memories.”

“No, it’s ok,” Eren said. “The Titans...well, there’s no other way to put it. They’re terrifying. One look at them, and you’ll know why they’re called humanity’s natural enemy.”

The other cadets looked disheartened. 

“Still,” Eren continued. “When I saw them, it was like my fear took a back seat. And all I could really feel...was rage.”

“Rage?” Mina repeated in disbelief. “Are you saying you weren’t afraid of them?”

“No, like I said, I was terrified. But that’s why I was so angry. They eat us for the hell of it, as if their very purpose is to inspire fear in us. From the moment they breached the outer wall, I felt that fear. And that made me furious. It felt like they had already won.” He took a bite of his bread as they mulled that over. “But I’ll show them that we don’t go down that easy,” he said darkly. “Even if I am afraid, that doesn’t mean I can’t fight them. I just have to move forward through the fear. That’s why I’m going to join the Survey Corps.”

“Hey, hey, are you insane?” came a voice from one table over. Eren looked up at the speaker, who was giving him an arrogant smile, and narrowed his eyes.

“Jean, right?” he asked, remembering the guy’s introduction. 

“That’s right. Not like it’s any of my business, but you know joining the scouts is a death sentence, right?”

“I guess we’ll find out,” said Eren. “Or at least I will. You seem content with joining the Military Police.”

“I’m just speaking honestly, kid. It’s better than spouting some bullshit about  _ moving forward through the fear _ . You should probably just give motivational speeches for a living instead. Higher life expectancy, you know?”

“I appreciate your input. No matter how useless it is.”

“Huh? Suit yourself. If you want to ignore good advice and get eaten by a Titan, be my guest.”

Eren got up and began to walk away, done with the conversation. 

“Hope you don’t have a family or anything! It would suck for them to have to mourn a suicidal bastard like you!”

Eren stopped in his tracks. 

In the corner of the room, Mikasa stiffened. 

Eren turned around and walked back towards Jean, who looked surprised at the murderous look on his face. 

“Uh...did that strike a nerve?” Jean asked, trying not to look nervous. 

Eren stopped right in front of Jean, who was a head taller than him. “My family,” Eren whispered. “Are either here with me, or dead.”

Jean paled. “Oh. I guess that was uncalled for then—”

Eren grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him off the floor with one hand. He then threw Jean across the room, causing him to sail past the other shell shocked cadets until he crashed against the far wall and fell to the floor.

“FUCK, OW!” Jean shouted, dazed and in a world of pain.    
  


Eren made for the door again, and the cadets backed away as he walked by. Mikasa followed after him. 

“That was aggressive,” Mikasa said. “I thought you’d gotten better at controlling your anger.”

“It’s fine,” Eren said. “I threw him gently.”

“You shouldn’t be picking fights with the other cadets. They could be your future comrades.”

“He’s dead set on the MPs. I doubt I’ll ever see him after we graduate.”

“Still, don’t make a habit of it. These people could have our backs one day.”

Eren nodded, taking the thought into account.  _ Comrades, huh?  _ The thought of applying that word to anyone other than Mikasa and Armin seemed foreign. They’d been through everything together. Played together. Fought together. Survived together. But he could very well be forging new bonds now that he was here. He stared down at the last piece of bread that was still in his hand.

* * *

Sasha finally dropped to the ground, exhausted, and started snoring. A figure approached her from the dark, and she sniffed the air in her sleep, before leaping with the force of a Deviant Titan, right at the figure walking toward her. Her teeth snatched the bread out of their hand, and she landed on the ground on all fours. 

Eren blinked in bewilderment. “That was a hell of a jump.”

Sasha seemed to come back to herself. “Wait, is this…? It is! Bread!”

“I figured you could use it,” Eren said. “Shadis doesn’t have to know.”

Sasha stared at him like he’d just descended to earth from a golden cloud. She ran forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. “You…! Are you God!? You are, aren’t you!? God!”

Eren stepped back. “What? Stop being creepy. My name is Eren Yeager. Nice to meet you, Potato Girl.”

“Potato...Girl?”

“Ah. Someone beat me to it.” The both turned toward the voice. It was a short blonde haired girl with a kind demeanor. 

“You’re...Krista, aren’t you?” Eren asked. 

Krista nodded. She held another loaf of bread and a jug in her hands. “I brought some water too,” she said. 

Sasha teared up. “You guys!”

“What are you three up to?” came another voice.  _ That one’s Ymir _ , Eren thought, having caught sight of her. 

Sasha hastily devoured both loaves of bread, as if she was afraid the newcomer would take them away. By the end of it, she fell over onto the ground and fell asleep again.

“Just doing a good deed, you two?” she asked, slightly condescending.

Eren looked away and shrugged. “We might be comrades one day. Might as well start having each other’s backs now.”

“Oh? How noble of you,” Ymir said, grabbing Sasha by one arm. “Help me carry her back, then.”

“Uh, sure,” Eren said, taking her by the other arm. As they walked back, Krista gave him a kind smile, and Ymir chuckled as Sasha began snoring again.

_ Comrades, huh? _ Eren thought again. 

* * *

The next day was a nightmare for Eren.

They had started on 3DMG training the first thing in the morning, and Eren’s aptitude was...well, there was no way around it. He was awful. The worst in their class. He spent the entire time hanging upside down on the harness, while the other cadets either laughed or tried really hard not to. 

“Hey, isn’t he the guy who threw Jean across a room with one arm?” one whispered. “And yet his balance is that horrifying?”

Eren twitched.  _ I’ll show you horrifying.  _

The worst part was, no matter how peeved he got, it wouldn’t help him on the 3D Maneuver Gear. No amount of rage would improve his balance, or his coordination.  _ It’s strange, though. I’ve been pretty damn good at balancing in the past. Is it really that different? _ He looked over at Mikasa, who of course, had been able to balance perfectly on the harness the moment she’d gotten on.  _ Guess I’ll have to ask her for advice later. _

* * *

After the humiliating hour spent imitating a bat, Eren practiced in private with only Mikasa and Armin as an audience. 

“Don’t try anything fancy. Just focus on your balance,” Mikasa instructed. Eren took a deep breath and did just that.

He fell flat on his face.

* * *

At lunch, Eren sat between Sasha and Mikasa, picking at his food irritably. He had until tomorrow to improve his 3DMG prowess to acceptable levels. Otherwise, he wouldn’t make the cut. 

“Hey, Mikasa, what am I doing wrong?” he asked sullenly. 

“It’s just a matter of fine tune muscle control, Eren. If you can’t do it instinctively, you just have to build up muscle memory until it feels natural.”

“Yeah, but that takes time, and I only have until tomorrow,” Eren said. “Sasha, you were pretty good on the harness yourself. Got any ideas?”

Sasha looked sympathetic. “I really do wish I could help. But it’s like Mikasa said. The more you practice, the more your body learns the motions. It’s like drawing and shooting a bow. I don’t know if there’s any way to improve that much in one day.”

Eren sighed. “I guess I’ll just have to practice and hope for the best, then.” Then, under his breath, he added, “I can’t kill a single Titan if I don’t figure this out…”

“It’s probably best to give up on that,” Mikasa said. 

Eren blinked. He turned his head towards Mikasa, who was staring at the table. “...What?” Had he heard that right?

“I’m saying you should abandon your ambition to kill the Titans. And to join the Survey Corps.”

Eren stared at her. “I...thought we were passed this,” he said slowly. 

“I stand by what I said. There are ways to help humanity other than being a soldier.”

Eren’s eyes narrowed. “Mikasa, is this your idea of a joke?”

“I’m not joking. It doesn’t matter how strong you are if you can’t use the 3D Maneuver Gear. You can’t punch a Titan into submission. You’ll be easy pickings for them.”

“Don’t you think I know that!? That’s why I need to improve!”

“I don’t think it’s possible,” she said, causing him to scowl. 

“Then I’ll do it on my own!” he said, getting up from the table. 

“It doesn’t matter how determined you are, Eren.”

“Yeah? And why’s that?”

“Because you’re not the one who decides whether you’re cut out to be a soldier.”

Eren stared at her as she continued to avoid his gaze. “Mikasa, look at me.” 

  
She turned to meet his eyes, and Eren felt his blood boil.  _ What the fuck.  _ She really wasn’t joking. Because that right there, on her face? That was doubt. 

  
“Maybe not,” he said. “But I’m the one who decides whether or not I’m going to try.  _ Not you _ .”

“It’s not that bad,” she said, looking down at the table again. “Even if you drop out, you won’t be alone. Anywhere you go, I’ll—”

“Uh, Mikasa?” Armin interrupted, looking uncomfortable. “He already left.” Mikasa looked up to see Eren taking long strides out the door. Her brow furrowed, and she got up to follow, but Armin grabbed her arm. 

“Wait,” he said, biting his lip. “Mikasa, I’d give him some space. What you just said to him…” 

“I was only telling the truth.”

“He won’t see it that way,” Armin said, avoiding her gaze. “Just give him some time alone, ok?”

Mikasa reluctantly nodded. “Ok.”

* * *

Eren snarled as he tried to keep his balance again. He was angrier than he’d been in a while, but it wasn’t helping him. If anything, it was disrupting his focus. Once again, he lost control, his face hitting the dirt.  _ Dammit, Mikasa. _

He had never felt so betrayed. 

His breaths came in harsh pants as he held himself up by his arms. He punched the ground, making a hole in the dirt. “DAMMIT!”

* * *

They were sparring that afternoon. Practicing hand to hand. Connie was understandably worried when he got paired up with Eren Yeager, but much to his relief, the insane strength he’d demonstrated against Jean was somehow absent right now. Eren seemed subdued, to the point where Connie was actually able to keep up somewhat. 

“Hey, not that I’m complaining that I haven’t face planted yet, but you seem preoccupied, Eren. Everything alright?”

“I’m fine, Connie,” Eren replied. “Just feel like I should be using this time to practice on the harness.”

“Oh, you’re still worried about that?” Connie asked. “Don’t stress yourself out so much over it, Eren. Some people are naturally gifted, whereas others just don’t have what it takes. Look at the bright side. Even if you fail—”

That was as far as Connie got. The next thing he knew, he was lying down with an ache in his gut and his face in the dirt. 

“Thanks for the advice, Connie,” Eren said, walking away.

Mikasa was paired up with Armin, and was giving him constant tips to improve, which Armin readily accepted. Still though, the boy was acting strange. Every once in a while, he’d look at her as if he wanted to say something, only to snap his jaw shut. It was clearly distracting him. 

“Mikasa.” 

The familiar voice snapped her out of her musings, and she spun around.

“Eren—”

“Spar with me.”

Armin paled. “Ah…”

Mikasa blinked in surprise. Eren hadn’t challenged her to a fight since...well, ever.

“Ok,” she said, frowning as he glowered at her.

For a moment, they stared each other down. Eren’s face was full of determination. But there was also anger. At her? Mikasa’s frown deepened. 

Suddenly, he charged forward. She was a bit surprised by the speed, but it was nothing she couldn’t react to. She deflected the punch smoothly. 

So it went. Eren would attack, and Mikasa would defend, searching for openings. She landed several hits along the way, but they barely deterred him. He kept punching and kicking, even attempting a grapple every now and then. She thwarted every attempt, but he still wouldn’t give up. 

_ I’ll have to go on the offensive then.  _ Redirecting his momentum, she aimed an uppercut at his chin which struck true, stunning him as his head snapped upwards. Next, she plowed her fist into his chest, causing him to gasp for breath, and finally aimed a knockout blow to his face. 

Her fist met thin air. 

Her eyes widened. Eren had swerved out of the way of her punch at the last second.

_ Was it a fluke? No…  _ She watched as he bared his teeth at her, snarling.  _ He’s getting angrier by the second.  _

His fist whipped out at her face, and she blocked it with her forearm. She winced as the impact rattled her bones. He had only shown this much prowess in a fight once before, when they’d been late to help Armin against his tormentors and they’d beaten him bloody. Eren had charged forward and laid out all three of them before she even got a chance to do anything. 

_ This could be a problem.  _

Eren aimed a high kick at her face. Such was its speed that she could only cross her arms in front of her face to stop it. She grunted in pain, before leaping back to create some distance. Eren launched himself forward, faster than before, but his anger made the charge predictable. She read his movements and used his momentum against him, flipping him so that he landed on his back. Before she could follow through, or declare that it was over, Eren swept her legs out from under her. 

Their “spar” had attracted a crowd now. People were muttering as they watched the spectacle. Mikasa’s prowess in pretty much everything was already well known by the other cadets, and many were surprised that Eren was still in the fight. 

Eren jumped on top of her, trying to pin her to the ground, but Mikasa caught him with both legs and kicked him over her head, doing a backwards flip and righting herself. Eren rolled through the dirt before he too recovered and got to his feet. 

  
“Enough, Eren,” Mikasa said. “This is pointless.”

“SHUT UP!” he shouted. “STOP SAYING THAT!” He was upon her in an instant, face twisted in fury, and this time, Mikasa couldn’t react. A fist drove into her gut, causing her to gasp as she was lifted off the ground by the force. Another punch connected with her temple, sending her crashing against the ground. He jumped into the air, and Mikasa rolled out of the way as his foot stomped down, causing the ground to shutter. “Stop looking down on me!” he shouted as he grabbed her by the leg, pulled her up, and slammed her against the ground again. “Don’t you dare tell me I can’t do this!” he screamed, and Mikasa realized he wasn’t talking about the fight. He fell on top of her, pinning her arms against the ground. “Do you really think so little of me, after everything!?” He brought his fist back up, and Mikasa closed her eyes.

But the hit never came. 

She opened her eyes again. Eren’s hand had dropped to his side, and as he stared down at her, Mikasa gasped at the look on his face. She had seen him angry before, even if it had never been at her. But that look...it was new, and terrifying. He looked lost and confused, as if he didn’t know who he was looking at anymore. She began to panic.  _ Why is he looking at me like that!? _

“Why…” he muttered, breaths shuddering. “You were supposed...to believe in me.”

Mikasa’s eyes widened. 

Eren got up off of her and walked away, shoulders slumped. When the other cadets parted to make way for him, he fled. 

Mikasa sat up numbly. Armin knelt next to her. “He...he just needs some time to cool off,” the boy said, but he sounded unsure. “He’ll come around…” Armin trailed off as Mikasa stared in the direction Eren had gone.

* * *

Eren skipped dinner that evening. He practiced on the 3DMG for hours on end, struggling well into the night. By the time he decided he needed sleep, he was trembling with exertion. 

_ That’s it. I have to hope it’s enough for tomorrow,  _ he thought.  _ If I fail, it’s because I really couldn’t do it, not because I gave up.  _

He went to sleep and dreamt of a young girl who thought the world of him, as he did her.

* * *

Mikasa stared at the ceiling, sleep eluding her.  _ He thinks I don’t believe in him.  _

Her eyes stung.  _ But I do! He’s my entire world. My inspiration. There’s no one I admire more than him. _

And yet...she had told him to give up. The conversation replayed herself in her mind, and she felt ill. She had discouraged him when he needed to be encouraged. She had dragged him down when he needed to be propped up. No wonder he had come to such a conclusion.

_ But it’s not true, is it? Did I really stop believing in him? When did that happen? When I realized I could do things he couldn’t? Am I really so shallow minded? _

Her eyes started to water.  _ I just...wanted to protect him. _

She thought of the look on his face when he pinned her. Not just the anger, but the betrayal. The chilling feeling that he was looking at Mikasa and seeing a stranger. 

Not once since she’d known him had he told her she couldn’t do something. Never had he told her to give up on  _ anything _ . 

_ I have to apologize. I can’t keep saying things like that to him. Otherwise...I might just lose him.  _

* * *

The next morning, Shadis stood in front of Eren. “This is your last chance, Cadet. If you can’t do this, you fail.”

“I know,” Eren said. 

“Then let’s see it.”

When they propped him up, he immediately began shaking on the harness. Shadis observed him with a critical eye. Eren gritted his teeth. He couldn’t stop shaking. But not once did he fall. That was a huge improvement over yesterday. The only question was, was it enough?

“Stop,” Shadis commanded, and Eren’s gut felt like led. “Wagner, switch gear with Yeager.”

Confused, Thomas did as he was told. A minute later, Eren was hanging upright in the air, effortlessly. The cadets that had previously laughed at him stared in awe. 

“Your gear was defective. Might have to give the supply depot a piece of my mind,” Shadis said. 

“So then...I?”

“You made the cut. Keep training, Cadet.”

Eren’s eyes burned with vindication. His eyes swept over those watching, and eventually, they landed on Mikasa, who was staring at him open mouthed. She soon lowered her gaze.

* * *

Eren had remained as humble as humanly possible when faced with everyone congratulating him. The story of Eren staying upright with defective gear had swept through the barracks like wildfire. After lunch ended, he took some time to relax outside, feeling like he’d earned it. 

“Eren?”

He turned towards the familiar voice. “Mikasa.”

“I’m sorry,” she said without preamble. “I didn’t mean to imply that I didn’t believe in you.”

Eren stared at her, skeptical. “Then what  _ did _ you mean, Mikasa?” 

“I...I don’t know. I just wanted to keep you safe. I couldn’t let you get killed by a Titan, Eren! I couldn’t bear it!”

“You said you'd enlist in the Survey Corps just like me,” Eren said. “You honestly think I don’t feel the same way? We  _ both _ made a promise to protect each other!” 

“It’s not the same, Eren!” 

“How is it not the same? You’re the only family I have left, just like I am to you. Why is it any different?”

_ Because you’re more than family to me!  _ “Because if I died, you’d be devastated. But if you died, I’d soon follow!”

Eren froze. “What?”

“You’re my only purpose for living now, Eren. I couldn’t go on without you. But if I was gone, you’d still be killing Titans and chasing the ocean with Armin.”

“Don’t. Tell me. How I’d feel.”

Mikasa fell silent. How could she explain this to him without crossing a line?

“Eren, what I feel for you...it’s different. Trust me on this.”

Eren looked at her with narrowed eyes. “And because it’s different, you thought what I felt was worth less?”

“I...no. I was just being foolish. I’m sorry,” she said. “...Forgive me?”

Eren stared at her, and she closed her eyes, beginning to shake. Soon, he felt his arms wrap around her, and she gasped.

“Of course I forgive you. I couldn’t go on without you either, you know.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she buried her face in his shoulder. “I—I’m going to do better!” she promised.

“We both will.”

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

_ “Retake Wall Maria, and go to the basement! If you want to save Mikasa and Armin, you need to learn to control this power, Eren!”  _

Eren woke with a gasp. He sat up in bed as his breathing slowed.  _ Why am I remembering that now?  _ He looked toward his bedside table, where the key to the basement lay. He’d worn it around his neck ever since Wall Maria fell, despite not remembering how he’d gotten it. 

_ “Dad...what happened to you?” _

* * *

Keith Shadis observed the cadets of the 104th Division as they practiced their three dimensional maneuvering, cutting down targets from the air. 

It had been roughly three years since they’d started their training, and graduation was close at hand. He already had an idea of who would make the top 10. Even among those, there were a select few that stood out. 

_ Reiner Braun. A born leader, with heaps of charisma. He naturally spurs those around him to action, and his sword skills and three dimensional maneuvering are among the best in the class.  _

_ Bertolt Hoover. Although timid, he has loads of latent talent at his disposal. He’ll need to learn to harden his heart sooner or later. _

_ Annie Leonhart. One of the most naturally talented cadets in their class, but she’s held back by a lack of motivation. For what reason, I cannot fathom, but I can only hope it won’t get in her way once the real battles begin.  _

And then there was the cream of the crop.

_ Mikasa Ackerman. Whether it be physical conditioning, hand to hand combat, sword skills, or three dimensional maneuvering, she naturally excels in every area. She’s first in her class in every single field.  _

And finally…

_ Eren Yeager. Like Braun, he’s charismatic. Though he had a rough start with the 3DMG, his sheer will and determination led to drastic improvement. Even then, his best traits are his physical conditioning and hand to hand combat skills, though his performance seems to be affected by his mood at times.  _

Shadis nodded to himself, satisfied. The 104th showed much promise. Though many of them wouldn’t make it through their first encounter with Titans, as was the case with every division, as a whole, they would bring humanity closer to victory. 

  
  


Eren stood his ground as Reiner charged at him with the wooden knife. He reached out, grabbing the heavyweight, and flipped him over his shoulder and onto the ground. Reiner blinked up at him, dazed, and Eren held a hand out.

“Thanks,” Reiner said. “Man, you’re really good at this.”

“Just practiced a lot, I guess.”

“Well, that’s admirable. And more than can be said for some people. Look over there.”

Eren followed his gaze, and saw one of the other cadets leaning against a tree, looking bored. “Annie? What about her?” 

“Only thing she practices regularly is slacking off. Why don’t we go teach her a lesson?” Reiner started walking over to the girl, alarming Eren.

“Huh? Hey, wait!” he said, going after him. Even though Reiner wasn’t as skilled as Mikasa or even Eren himself, Eren still looked up to the guy. He was a leader, and the military needed more of those. It was best that he not get into fights with the other cadets. 

Maybe Eren was being hypocritical there...

Reiner walked right up to Annie, smirking at her. “Yo, Annie. Did the Commander not beat you down enough for being lazy? If you’re not going to put in any effort, I suggest you think back to why you enlisted in the first place!”

Annie gave Reiner a cold stare.  _ Whoa, she’s pissed.  _ Eren hadn’t interacted much with Annie the past three years. She preferred to keep to herself, which was a bit strange. All of the cadets seemed to have their tight knit groups. Eren himself often hung out with not only Mikasa and Armin, but also Sasha and Connie in their free time. Similarly, Jean always stuck close to Marco, and Reiner to Bertolt. But Annie? She was a loner through and through. 

“Well, what are you waiting for, Eren?” Reiner said, clapping him on the back. “Teach her a thing or two!”

“Huh!? Why me? Do it yourself!”

But Reiner had already backed away several meters, leaving Eren to deal with Annie, who had walked forward with a glare and taken a stance.

“Um...you know he doesn’t speak for me, right?” Eren said. 

Annie didn’t respond, waiting on Eren.

_ Well alright then… _

Eren got into a ready stance, and when Annie simply waited on him, shot forward.

He did  _ not _ expect Annie to sweep his leg out from under him, causing him to crash to the ground.

Eren blinked up at the sky, playing that move she’d just demonstrated back in his mind. It was flawless.

“You ready to face me yourself now, Reiner?” Annie asked.

“Uh, well, I—”

“Don’t you dare bitch out,” Eren said from the ground. “You’re the one who had a  _ lesson _ to teach her, weren’t you?”

Moments later, Reiner was on the ground. 

“Who taught you to fight, Annie?” Eren asked as he got up. 

“My father,” she whispered.

_ He must have been really good,  _ Eren thought. Annie wasn’t as strong or as fast as Mikasa, but she was just as skilled.  _ I’d actually need a rageboost to beat her. And right now, I’m way too impressed to be angry.  _

“Not that it matters. Hand to hand combat isn’t factored much into our grade. You’re just wasting your time.”

Eren’s mind flashed back to a cabin in the woods, to blood, to the stench of death, to innocence lost. And salvation gained. 

“I don’t believe that,” Eren muttered. “Humans can be just as despicable as Titans.”

Annie hummed. “At least you’re thinking realistically there.” Bored with the conversation, she walked away.

* * *

Eren, as usual, was sitting in between Mikasa and Armin in the mess hall, with Sasha and Connie across from them. 

“Hmm? You think I should spar with Annie?” Mikasa asked. 

“Definitely. I sparred with her today, and you two are probably the best in the class in hand to hand. You could learn a lot by training together.”

Mikasa turned away. “I doubt I’d learn anything. But if she ever hurts you, I’ll fight her.”

_ So single-minded. _

Mikasa had grown over the years. Though most people considered her to be emotionless, those close to her knew it wasn’t even remotely true. She only really let her guard down around Eren and Armin. She had cut her hair short two years ago, after Eren had commented that it might get in the way of the 3DMG. Jean had cussed him out that day, saying that his faith in humanity was lost. Eren still didn’t know what that had been about.

Speaking of Jean…

“And that’s how you conserve fuel! You let your momentum do the work for you. It’s pretty advanced, but you gotta strut the strut if you wanna make the cut. The Military Police only accepts the best.”

“That’s pretty amazing. You’ll definitely make the top ten, Jean,” Marco praised. “I just hope I can do the same. There’d be no greater honor than serving the king.”

Jean slapped him lightly. “Don’t give me that honor BS, Marco! Admit it, you just want to live a comfy life in the interior like me!”

“What? No, I really want to—”

“Give it a rest, Jean,” Eren said. “It’s bad enough you pursue that lazy man’s dream yourself. Have some decency and don’t preach it to others.”

_ Yep, it’s official. I’m a hypocrite for not wanting Reiner to pick fights.  _ He couldn’t help it though. What Jean was saying set him off in so many ways. 

“Huh? You trying to start something, Yeager?”

“Yeah. I can be brutally honest too, you know. You’re a horseface and you piss me off. I’ll be impressed if that ego of yours fits into the interior. Oh, and you smell.”

Connie and Sasha looked like they were trying to hold back laughter. 

Jean twitched. “Son of a…”

“Isn’t it a little backwards? That you’re honing and bragging about your Titan killing skills, when your goal is to get as far away from the Titans as possible?”

Jean stood up. “That’s just the way things are! You’d rather I hone my skills in getting killed, like you? Better to play the system than get chewed on!”

Eren stood as well. “You think you’ll be safe in the interior forever? Five years ago, this  _ was _ the interior! Wouldn’t you rather die a fighter than a coward!?” By now, their argument had attracted the attention of the entire room. 

Jean took a few steps forward. “Is that a serious question? Come to terms with reality, you suicidal bastard!”

Eren stepped forward to meet him, grabbing him by his collar. “You already know I can kick your ass! So who’s the suicidal bastard, really!?”

Mikasa stood from her seat. “Stop. That’s enough.” She grabbed Eren’s hand and pulled it down, meeting his gaze. After staring at her for a moment, the fight drained from him, and he looked down.

_ I lost my temper again… _

This time though,  _ he _ was grabbed by the collar. “Dammit, you bastard!” Jean shouted.

“Huh!? Fuck you! I backed off!”

“I don’t give a shit! I’m too jealous!”

“The hell are you on about!?” 

Eren grabbed Jean and swept his leg out from under him, causing him to crash to the floor with a grunt. 

“Ow...what the hell was that!?”

“That was a move I picked up while you were getting off to thoughts of the interior. If you really think reality is about living comfortably and following your own whims, can you really call yourself a soldier?”

His words resonated throughout the silent room. 

Suddenly, the door creaked open. “I heard a lot of noise just now. Anyone care to explain?” Shadis asked.

Sufficiently cowed, Eren and Jean took their seats as the instructor awaited an answer.

Mikasa raised her hand. “Sasha ripped a giant fart, Sir.”

Sasha gasped as the entire room tried to stifle their laughter.

“So it was you again. Learn some modesty!” Shadis said, before leaving. 

Sasha looked mortified. She looked like she’d never recover. “Mikasa whyyyy! How could you!? Betrayed, I’ve been betrayed! I’ll never forgive you!”

Mikasa stuck her portion of bread into the girl’s mouth, and was instantly forgiven.

* * *

The graduation ceremony was brief. They were told that they had three paths available to them, and that only the top 10 could join the MPs. All stuff they knew already. Then the top 10 cadets were announced and were called to the front.

Ymir was number 10. Marco was number 9. Sasha was number 8. Connie was number 7. Jean was number 6. Annie was number 5. Bertolt was number 4. Reiner was number 3. Eren was number 2. And Mikasa was number 1.

* * *

“Eren, you’re still dead set on joining the scouts, huh? Even though you’re second in the class,” Connie commented. 

“Of course. This was my path from the very beginning.”

“Seriously, man?” Thomas asked. “You could be set for life in the interior! Why risk your neck outside the walls? It’s not like we can really beat them!”

Eren’s eyes narrowed. “So we just roll over and die, then?” he asked, silencing Thomas. “Like I said, five years ago, this  _ was _ the interior. We’ve lost so many lives, and so much territory. Do you think the Titans will stop at Wall Maria? Eventually, there will be nowhere left to hide.”

His words seemed to disturb the candidates who had been planning on joining the Military Police, and even the ones who were going to fall back on the Garrison seemed to be listening.

“If we just stay within the walls and accept our eventual deaths, all of the sacrifices humanity has made will have been for nothing. I refuse to let those deaths be in vain! The Titans won’t stop until they devour us all. Every single human within the walls. Win, we live. Lose, we die. We can’t win if we don’t even fight. I’m going to take back what’s ours! As long as there’s still someone with that mindset, there’s still hope!”

With his piece said, Eren marched out.

* * *

After being congratulated by Hannes for finishing in the top 10, Eren and several other cadets ascended Wall Rose for maintenance duty. It was really just making sure the cannons were all functioning in case of an attack, so they had plenty of time to talk amongst themselves. 

“You’re really joining the Survey Corps, Connie? I thought you had your mind set on the MPs!” Eren said. 

“Don’t read too much into it. A guy’s allowed to change his mind, you know?”

“I think it’s because your speech lit a fire under him, Eren!” Mina said with a wide smile. 

“Shut up! His rant had nothing to do with it!” Connie denied, face flushed. 

“Take it easy man,” Thomas said. “It’s not like you’re alone.”

Eren gaped. “Thomas, you too?” 

“Hey, can you guys keep a secret?” Sasha asked. 

“Hmm? We already know you’re gunning for the scouts, Sasha,” Eren said. It was one of the reasons he had hit it off with her right away. That, and she somehow never forgot that one time with the bread...

“No, not that,” Sasha said, absolutely giddy. “I swiped some meat from the Officer’s Pantry.”

They looked horrified. “Sasha, are you an idiot!?” Thomas asked.

“She totally is,” Connie said. 

“It’s ok. I’m willing to share!” Sasha assured, salivating. “Can you imagine the sandwiches we’ll make?” She shivered in delight. 

“Put it back! We don’t wanna get in trouble because of you!” Connie snapped. 

“I’ll have some,” Eren said. 

“Seriously, Eren!?”

He shrugged. “It won’t be the first time I’ve eaten stolen food.”

“But you’re a soldier now! They’ll throw you in the brig!”

“Think of it this way,” Sasha said. “Once we reclaim Wall Maria, we’ll have that much more land for livestock.”

They only hesitated a moment longer.

“I’ll have a slice!”

“Huh!? If you get some, I get some!”

“I’m in too!”

Eren smiled.  _ Things are finally looking up.  _

Lightning struck behind him.

He turned to look over his shoulder. There, staring right at them, was the Colossal Titan.

Eren barely had time to react before steam enveloped them all, blowing every single one of them off the walls. They entered free fall, but soon used their 3DMG to grapple onto the wall. Most of them, anyway.

“Shit! Samuel,” Connie cried. Their fellow cadet was still plummeting, clearly unconscious. 

Eren didn’t hesitate. He leapt off the wall and dove, using his gas to propel him downwards faster. He grabbed Samuel by the boot and dug his hooks back into the wall, his feet skidding against it as he slowed them to a stop. 

Then there was an explosion below them. 

Eren struggled to keep his grip as a hole was made in Wall Rose. “That bastard! He kicked in the wall again!” The impact made his grip start to loosen. If it wasn’t for his rage, his hold would have failed by now. 

A hook shot down at them, digging into Samuel’s leg and keeping him suspended.  _ Not ideal, but it’ll have to do!  _ Eren retracted his hooks and shot them higher, ascending the wall with his grip still on the unconscious cadet. 

“You’re a lifesaver, Sasha!” he yelled as he passed her by. “Hold onto him!”

“H—Hey!” she protested, but grabbed onto Samuel anyway. Once he was sure she had a good grip on him, he ascended to the top of the wall. 

“Yo. It’s been a long time,” Eren said, glaring daggers at the Colossal. He ran forward, jumping high as the behemoth swiped his arm across the top of the wall. 

_ He took out the cannons! No doubt about it, he’s intelligent! _

He let his hooks sink into the Colossal’s arm, pulling him to the limb. He let his rage fuel him as he ran up the giant appendage faster than was humanly possible. The Colossal turned over its arm, and Eren was forced back into the air. He dug his hooks into its nape, swinging around and reeling himself in once again. As he did so, a strange sensation overcame him. It was as if everything slowed down around him. He could see steam shooting out from the Colossal’s nape, about to envelop him, and his eyes widened. He swerved around the steam, and time resumed normally as he continued to reel himself in. 

Just as he felt his blades dig into the nape, it disappeared.

_ No! That wasn’t deep enough! Where did it go!? _

He gasped as he looked around for any sign of it. There was none. The Colossal Titan had vanished into thin air.

* * *

They were ordered back to HQ. Having just graduated, they were to follow behind the vanguard to defend Trost. Eren and Armin were placed in Squad 34, along with Thomas, Mina, Nack, and Milleus. 

_ What was that back there?  _ Eren wondered.  _ It was as if everything slowed down. I could see what was happening in slow motion, and react accordingly.  _ Was it part of the rageboost he’d gotten at the time? He’d gotten plenty of those in the past though, and had never had that kind of experience. 

Mikasa looked anguished to not be in the same squad as them, but she simply hugged them both and told them to stay safe. Eren smiled at her, telling her she’d see them once they retook Trost. As they moved out, his mind returned to the strange sensation, and what it could mean.

_I felt...invincible._ _At the top of my game. Like I wasn’t the prey, but the hunter._

* * *

“Squad 34! Move out!” 

Their orders given, they made their way over the rooftops, descending into the pits of Hell. When they caught their first glimpse of the Titans, it was clear that the situation was even worse than expected. They could see that the vanguard was being quickly overwhelmed. 

As they drew closer, Eren caught sight of a Titan on all fours atop a roof, staring right at them. 

“Abnormal!” he warned. “Scatter!” The others flew in different directions, but as Eren was about to do the same, it happened again. 

Everything slowed down. He could see the Titans muscles tense as it prepared to leap right at them. 

_ No, I won’t flee! This is just what I needed right now.  _

The Titan leapt off the roof, but from Eren’s point of view, it was still moving in slow motion. He could see  _ everything _ . From its mouth open wide, to the way its eyes were so blank with anything other than hunger and desperation to feed. 

And he could also see the path it would take through the air. 

_ This is the moment! I know exactly where it’ll go! _

As it careened through the air, Eren used his gas to twist himself around, positioning his body at an angle so that when it flew past him at a narrow margin, he would be able to target its nape. He readied his blades. 

The Abnormal flew past him, mouth wide open, and Eren propelled himself forward at just the right moment, and just the right angle. 

His blades sliced into its nape, gouging out the flesh.

Eren followed it with his eyes, able to tell it was dead. Its body was now limp even as it continued sailing through the air. But then he caught sight of something, no, someone, in its path. 

_ Shit! Thomas! He didn’t react in time? _

He tried to move in time to get to him, but it just wasn’t possible. Whatever this ability was, it slowed down his perception of time. It didn’t make it so he could act any faster with his 3DMG. 

Luckily, Thomas wasn’t sitting idle. He had already begun propelling himself out of the way. But as the Abnormal’s lifeless body passed him by, its chin clipped him, sending him careening out of control.

“Thomas!” Eren shouted as time resumed. The other cadet regained control, digging his hooks into a nearby building and landing on the roof, looking shaken.

“I’m ok!” he shouted. “It barely touched me!”

_ Because it was dead,  _ Eren thought as he landed on a different rooftop. His hands were shaking.  _ If I hadn’t killed that thing, he’d be a goner.  _

He gripped his blades tighter and shook himself free of his fear. Considering what-ifs was a waste of energy. Thomas was fine. 

“Move forward!” he shouted, and was met by a chorus of affirmatives. 

_ I don’t know where this power came from, but I’ll be damned if I don’t make good use of it! _

And so it went. The entire squad had opted to follow his lead by unspoken agreement after that first encounter. They dealt with a couple more Titans of the regular variety, and compared to the Abnormal, they were a lot less dangerous and more predictable. He let himself be fueled by his rage, which was a constant right now. Although his new ability hadn’t shown itself again yet, he was nonetheless racking up a kill count. 

“That’s three!” he growled as he sliced through the nape of a Titan that made a grab for him. 

“You’re really hogging all the glory, Eren! Save some for the rest of us, why don’t you?” Nack joked. 

“Huh!? Try to keep up! I’m going to slaughter them all!” Despite his response, inwardly he was of a different mindset. The encounter with the Abnormal had shown him how quickly things could potentially go bad. They couldn’t just compete for kills like it was a game. He had to make sure his squadmates survived. Even if it meant hogging all the kills. 

His squad began getting the hang of working as a group. They would distract the Titans or slice off their hands while Eren got behind and went for the nape. They got two more group kills that way, bringing Eren’s count up to five. Not that he was consciously keeping track.

He totally was. 

“That’s all of them in the immediate area,” Armin said. “We should rendezvous with the other squads at the supply depot!”

“Alright, good call!” Eren agreed. They made their way over as quickly as they could without wasting gas. When they got close though, the mood plummeted. 

“It’s been overrun!” Mina cried. 

“Damn! Is everyone inside dead!?” Eren asked.

“No, they’re still alive! Otherwise the Titans would have moved on by now!” Armin assured. 

“Then let’s act fast!” Eren shouted.

“Wait, Eren!” Eren hung back to listen to his friend, and Armin breathed a sigh of relief. “There are at least a dozen over there,” he said. “If we go over now, we’ll get swarmed. Even with your skills, it’s too many!”

“Then what should we do? We can’t just leave those inside to die!”

“We won’t! We need to bring reinforcements! Let’s find the other squads, as well as what’s left of the vanguard! Then we’ll come back here!”

Eren pondered that. He didn’t like the idea of leaving the cadets alone in there, but above all, he trusted Armin’s judgement. That head of his had gotten them out of so many close calls that Eren didn’t have it in him to doubt his friend’s words. 

“Alright. We’ll follow your plan.”

Armin smiled. “Thanks, Eren!”

It didn’t take them long to find the other squads. They were all in one place, on a high rooftop, out of the reach of the Titans. As Eren drew close, he overheard Sasha and Connie trying to convince the others to fight, with little success. 

_ What’s going on? _

Eren landed on the rooftop, followed by his squad. Eyes turned to meet them. Other than Sasha and Connie, Eren picked out Reiner, Annie, Bertolt, Jean, Marco, Ymir, and Krista.

“Eren!” Sasha and Connie shouted. 

“What’s going on here?” he asked. “Where’s the vanguard? I haven’t seen any of them around!”

“They’ve been wiped out,” Jean said, sitting with his head in his hands. “It’s only us cadets left.”

“Are you serious!?” Thomas asked. “All of them!?” 

“That’s what I said!”

“It was a bloodbath,” Ymir stated, before turning to Eren’s squad. “To be honest, I’m surprised you’re all still alive,” she added.

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Nack demanded. 

“Just that I thought a few of you would have gotten eaten by now.”

“You…!” 

“Enough,” Eren said. “The supply depot’s been overrun. You guys know that, right?”

“Yeah, we know,” Jean said. “It’s why we’re all up here. Some of us are low on gas, and no one’s qualified or suicidal enough to lead a mission into the depot. At this rate, we’ll all run out of gas and get eaten.”

Eren gritted his teeth.  _ Come to think of it, my tank’s about half empty.  _ He’d been so focused on getting the kills and keeping his squad safe. He had to remember to always keep a mental note of how much gas he had left in the future. But for now…

“Jean,” he said. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m both qualified  _ and _ suicidal enough.”

Jean looked at him in shock. “Are you serious right now?”

“I am. I need you all to help me take back the supply depot. I’ll lead!”

Jean clenched his teeth, looking indecisive. 

“Eren!” He turned around and saw Mikasa swinging towards them. She landed on the roof next to him. 

“Mikasa? I thought you were assisting with the evacuation?” _ Hopefully she didn’t hear me say I’m suicidal enough _ .

“The evacuation is complete,” she said. “I came to assist you.”

Eren nodded. “Good. Our chances of success just doubled.”

He turned back towards Jean, missing the blush that spread across Mikasa’s cheeks. 

“See that? We can do this.”

Jean sighed in frustration. “Alright, fine! Try convincing the rest of these slackers, though!”

Mikasa looked around and saw how hopeless most of the cadets looked. If they couldn’t convince them, their numbers would be cut in half.

“We’re in,” Connie said. “Sasha and I were already trying to get these lazy asses in gear.”

Ymir and Krista walked over wordlessly, as did Marco, Reiner, Annie, and Bertolt. The rest stared at them in disbelief. 

Eren was annoyed. Half of them wouldn’t even stand and fight? They’d rather wait to die?

He looked over at Mikasa, who was staring at him solemnly. They both nodded. 

“I won’t just ask you to throw your lives away!” Eren said. “But if you don’t rise and fight now, you’re going to die on your knees! Mikasa and I will lead you all and take back the supply depot! If you’d follow behind us, then  _ offer your hearts _ !”

As one, he and Mikasa jumped off the rooftop. They were followed by Armin and the rest of the 34th squad, along with all the others who had agreed to come. 

“Hey, were we trained to leave comrades to fight alone!?” Jean shouted. “At this rate, you’ll all really be remembered as cowards!” With his piece said, he jumped off the roof.

“Never thought I’d hear that from him,” Reiner said as he followed, along Bertolt and Annie. 

“What are you waiting for!?” Sasha shouted. “Cowards! Pussies! Idiots!”

As half of the cadets left to follow behind their top two graduates, it seemed to light a fire under those still hesitant. As one, they shouted in determination and leapt into action. 

Eren and Mikasa worked like a well oiled machine. One would attract a Titan’s attention, and the other would go for the nape. On the off chance that they encountered an Abnormal, they would both attack in unison, cutting off hands, legs, and jaws until nothing stood in the way of the nape. They had survived the streets together as orphans for two years, and trained together as cadets for another three. They needed no words. They both were conserving as much gas as they could, knowing they would need it to defend the depot.

As Mikasa sliced the nape of another 10 meter, Eren spoke up. “Hey, Mikasa! What’s your kill count?” 

“Hmm? I haven’t really been counting. At least ten.”

“Seriously!? I only have seven as of now!”

Mikasa allowed herself a faint smile, amused that Eren was making a competition out of it.

As they closed in on the depot though, Mikasa turned serious. “Eren, for all we know, there could be smaller Titans inside the depot.”

Eren’s eyes widened. “Shit! I didn’t think of that! We’re going to need people with serious skills to be operating indoors! Armin!”

The blonde turned his attention toward Eren. “I need you to come up with a plan to retake the supply depot, assuming there are 3-5 meter classes inside! Mikasa and I will keep the ones outside at bay!”

Armin turned toward their classmates, mentally counting the ones who would be up to such a task. 

_ Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, Jean, Sasha, Connie, Ymir, and Marco. They’d be our main force with Mikasa and Eren occupied. The rest of us will have to serve as backup. The problem is, all of them are running low on gas. Think, Armin. Think! _

After a long moment, he turned back to Eren and Mikasa. “I have a plan, but it’s risky! You two focus on the bigger ones! Keep them from getting to us!” 

They all charged towards the depot, and the dozen Titans converging around it. Eren and Mikasa took initiative, slicing open the napes of two Titans with their backs turned. 

This brought the attention of the rest onto them, and the two sprung into action, avoiding swipes of their hands and looking for openings. Meanwhile, the rest of the cadets crashed through the windows of the depot after another. Some of the titans started going after them, but Eren and Mikasa cut their fingers off while their attention was diverted.

“Where are you looking, assholes!? Over here!” Eren shouted. This kept their attention on them while more and more of the cadets following them entered the building. 

“Be safe!” Armin shouted at them as he flew in. 

Leaving Eren and Mikasa as the sole focus of the remaining ten Titans. 


	5. Chapter 5

“On your right!” Eren warned. Mikasa reacted instantly, swerving around the hand that reached out for her and swinging around to slice the nape. 

Eren maneuvered in between two Titans, noting that the second would have time to grab him once he killed the first.  _ Mikasa’s got it covered, though.  _

He went for the nape, gouging out the flesh with a practiced movement, as the other one’s hand rushed toward him, sure enough, Mikasa blurred behind it, slicing its nape and stopping it in its tracks. 

_ Three down, seven to go.  _

Knowing Mikasa was right behind him, Eren advanced towards the crowd of Titans, planning on taking the smaller ones first. Five of them rushed forward to grab him, while two stayed where they were.

_ They’re hanging back? Are they Abnormals? _

As Eren killed the 7 meter in front of him, both Titans in the back jumped over his head. 

_ They’re ignoring me and going for Mikasa. _

Eren dodged out of the way of a Titan’s jaws and chanced a glance back at her. She had opted to distance herself from the two Abnormals and aid Eren instead.

_ Good move. We need to take down the regulars first. The other two will need our full focus. _

They each took down one more Titan each before they heard rumbling footsteps coming towards them. 

Another Titan came charging towards the depot, running clumsily as if it was drunk. 

Eren and Mikasa both swung out of the way as it swiped its hand forward as if trying to swat a fly.

_ Another one? This is getting bad. There are still two regulars left, and we didn’t account for having to deal with three Abnormals at once.  _

They both surged forward, intent on getting two more kills before they had to deal with the more difficult three. 

Time slowed down. 

Eren’s eyes widened.  _ This has only happened when there was serious danger so far. Is that the trigger? _

His head slowly turned back to the three Abnormals. The drunken one’s leg muscles were tensing as it crouched.  _ It’s going to leap at us, like that first one I killed.  _

He shot his hooks forward and propelled himself towards Mikasa, who had no way of knowing what was coming. 

_ Gotta make it! _

He collided with her, pulling them both to the side and out of the way as a large shadow appeared over them. The third Abnormal fell past their previous position and crashed to the ground. 

Mikasa’s eyes widened at the sight. 

“Now!” Eren shouted, and they surged towards the two regulars again, avoiding their swipes and taking out one of them each. They turned around to see that the three Abnormals were all running straight at them. 

“Lead them away, Eren!” Mikasa shouted, speeding up as they distanced themselves from the depot.

“We’re leaving it undefended?” Eren asked as he sped up himself. 

“Those are the only three left in the area, and they’re all after us. They’re too unpredictable, we can’t fight them at the depot with everyone inside!” Mikasa reasoned. 

_ Good point.  _ He chanced a glance back, and sure enough, they were still following. When they deemed it far enough, they slowed down and turned around. As the three Titans drew closer, the drunken one leapt at them again. 

This time, they were ready. They both dropped low as it went sailing over their heads, landing on the ground in front of them. Eren and Mikasa exchanged a brief glance and nodded. They’d take out the other two first. They would need to team up against that one. 

Wait…

As the other two Abnormals spread out in front of them, Eren and Mikasa both realized their error. The three Titans were now converging around them in a triangle formation.

“They surrounded us,” Eren hissed.  _ Are they doing this instinctively? These things are more dangerous than we gave them credit for! _

_ “ _ Back to back,” Mikasa suggested, and they turned away from each other to keep an eye on all three. 

There was no time to think after that. 

The first Abnormal dove for Eren, and time slowed down again. He shot his hook into its shoulder and swung around it, propelling himself high above its nape, before he swooped back down like a bird of prey and sliced its nape. 

_ Two left! _

When time continued in slow motion though, he knew something was wrong. He’d realized that this ability, whatever it was, functioned as an early warning system. If it was still active, then…

He was still in danger. He slowly turned around and saw the drunken Abnormal’s hand right in front of his face. Mikasa was in the middle of shouting his name as a warning. 

Eren cut off his gas, letting himself drop.

The hand still clipped him. 

Time resumed as he was sent careening away, landing roughly on a nearby roof. He gasped in pain, trying to get breath back into his lungs, and swiftly pushed himself to his feet. 

Mikasa had killed the second Abnormal, and was now cutting off the drunken one’s hand, looking enraged. It seemed to stumble backward, its hand now a bloody stump.

Then it twisted around on its feet.

Time slowed again as the last Titan spun with surprising speed.

Mikasa’s eyes widened, having not expected that, and Eren screamed her name as he was forced to watch what happened next. He had already dug his hooks into a nearby building and leapt off the roof, but he was too far. He wouldn’t make it in time.

The Titan backhanded Mikasa, even as she tried to avoid the swipe. The hit was worse than the one Eren had taken, and though she tried to regain control mid-air, she only succeeded in slowing her fall before she crashed into the ground and rolled.

“Mikasa!” Eren shouted, landing in front of her. She was gasping for breath. Eren’s eyes scanned her worriedly, keeping half his attention on the Abnormal, who was slowly stumbling towards them as its hand regenerated. Miraculously, Mikasa only seemed hurt from the fall. There didn’t seem to be anything broken. 

“Can you stand?” he whispered, kneeling down.

“My—gear!” she gasped. “Broken!” and the realization came to him. Eren looked down to see her gas canisters were ruptured, and her triggers jammed on one side. Her gear had taken the force of the hit. 

“Stay here,” he said. “I’ll take it down.”

“Be careful, Eren! It’s movements are too erratic!” 

“There’s no choice!” he shot back. Even though Mikasa was more skilled between the two of them, it wasn’t like they had time to switch gear with that thing drawing closer by the second. He shot his hooks out and blurred forward, spinning as swung behind its head and aimed for the nape. But the Abnormal stumbled again, this time forwards, and avoided the hit entirely. 

_ She’s right, it’s way too random! I need to reduce its mobility. _

He dropped low as one of its feet raised and severed the tendon on its ankle. It fell to one knee, and Eren inwardly cheered.

_ It can’t dodge now! Time to end it!  _ He swung around one last time, blades poised for the kill, and shot forward.

His momentum died halfway there, and he began to fall.

He was horrified as the realization hit him. 

He was out of gas. 

Once again, time slowed down, and he could do nothing. Without gas, he was nearly dead in the air. Even as he retracted his hooks to try to regain some semblance of mobility, the Abnormal’s hand shot out and grabbed him. 

He cursed as it brought him towards its face, salivating. He heard Mikasa scream. Not about to go down without a fight, he stabbed his blade into its hand with his free arm, hoping it would let go.

But it just squeezed.

Eren couldn’t even scream as his ribs were instantly crushed. Blood flew from his lips.

_ That’s a death sentence.  _ Even if he could somehow free himself from its grip, he was too injured to move now.  _ I’m going to die.  _ The thought sent rage flowing through his veins like liquid fire. 

_ Killed by a Titan who had one too many? Fuck that! _

As it brought him towards its mouth, maw opening wide, Eren brought his blade up one more time. 

“ _ EREN! _ ” Mikasa shouted, and he realized she was still there, still watching, helpless to do anything. She would be forced to watch him die.  _ I’m pathetic!  _ He still remembered what she’d told him three years ago. That if he died, she’d soon follow. The statement had chilled him at the time, but he’d simply resolved himself not to die. So much for that.

“Mikasa!” he screamed through bloody lips. “Don’t you dare give up! Keep fighting! You have to live!” The sheer, unadulterated fury allowed him to ignore his injuries, and he thrust the blade down one more time. 

It ripped right through flesh, muscle, and bone, cleaving the hand in two. He had no time to celebrate though, because as he fell from its grasp, its other hand, half regenerated, came up and impacted him.

Pain flooded his senses as his vision darkened and he felt wind rushing by his face.  _ I can’t die here. I still have to protect them. Protect HER.  _ The last sensation he felt was a jolt, as if lightning was rushing through his veins. Then he knew no more. 

  
  


Mikasa watched with a silent scream as Eren was sent flying away by the Abnormal’s hand. Her hand shook as she raised it, reaching for him as his bloody form flew over the rooftops and disappeared from sight. 

“Come...back,” she sobbed. As the Titan crawled toward her on all fours, its other prey now out of proximity, insidious voices whispered in her mind. 

_ You failed. There’s no way he could have survived that,  _ they said. She shook her head in denial. Eren wouldn’t die like that! He couldn’t! But she knew. He was already injured. If the hit didn’t kill him, the fall would. No amount of rage would be enough to change that. 

The life drained out of her, and she sank to her knees in despar.  _ I’m so useless. After all that talk of protecting him, he died right in front of me. I couldn’t do a thing.  _

The Abnormal was nearing her now, still crawling to get to her. As it drew closer, Eren’s last words replayed in her mind.  _ Keep fighting! You have to live!  _ The words pumped life back into her numb body, and she jumped to her feet. 

_ That’s right. Those were the words he lived by. I’m sorry, Eren. I won’t stop fighting.  _ Tears flowed down her cheeks freely as she abandoned the dead weight of her gear.

_ Even if I don’t deserve it. I’ll at least obey your lash wish.  _

She ran as fast as her feet could carry her. The Titan’s foot was still regenerating, so she would be able to gain some distance before it got to its feet. She ran in the direction Eren’s body had flown, which also happened to be the direction of the supply depot. 

_ I have to make it back there. The others should be finished resupplying by now. I’ll get some new gear and kill this trash! That’s my best hope of survival.  _ She clenched her teeth.  _ Eren, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how I can go on without you after this. But I’ll at least recover your body! You won’t end up in the stomach of a Titan. I will bury you! And I’ll loathe myself later, when this is over! _

She turned the corner around one of the nearby buildings, and continued sprinting. 

Right up to a 15 meter Titan. 

She skidded to a halt, the sight chilling her. Had they missed one? Or was it attracted to the area by all the cadets in the supply depot? As long as the gate remained breached, more and more of these things would keep coming in. 

The 15 meter stared down at her with intent. It looked different than the rest of its kind, toned with muscle all over its body, with bright green eyes and a serrated jaw. Another Abnormal? How many of these things were there?

She backed away and turned, ready to sprint in the other direction, when her original pursuer stepped around the corner, now fully regenerated. 

She held her last blade out in front of her, realizing how hopeless this situation was. Even if she ran now, the Abnormal would just leap at her. She was finished. Still, she opened her mouth and let out a battle cry as it stumbled toward her. 

A large shadow passed over her, and just as she began to accept her death, the 15 meter sailed over her head. 

It was turning midjump, its entire body spinning gracefully through the air as its leg came around and impacted the Abnormal’s face. 

Mikasa stared in wonder as the Abnormal’s head flew right off its body, hurtling through the air until it crashed into a tower in the distance. 

_ What? _

The Abnormal stumbled, its arm swiping randomly at the 15 meter, but the newcomer simply caught the limb and ripped it out of its socket. It then sent a swift kick forward to the Abnormal’s torso, launching it to the ground. Finally, it jumped again, stomping down on the other Titan’s nape as it landed. The Abnormal stilled. 

The 15 meter held its head high and roared its fury into the heavens, forcing Mikasa to cover her ears. When she opened her eyes, the Titan was staring down at her again.

_ It...killed the other Titan… _

What  _ was _ this thing?

She stared into its eyes. Something about them was strikingly familiar. They looked so expressive, so full of life. A strange trait for a Titan. 

Suddenly, it shot towards her. 

Mikasa had no time to react before it grabbed her in its hand, raising her up.

_ No! I was so shocked that I let my guard down! _

She tried to see if she could cut its fingers, but there was absolutely no wiggle room. Her arms were trapped at her sides. As it lifted her, she closed her eyes. 

_ This is it, huh? _

But the Titan didn’t bring her anywhere near its mouth. Instead, it turned on its heel, and ran. 

Mikasa opened her eyes as she heard its thundering footsteps and felt the wind rushing by her face. The Titan was cradling her against its chest with one hand as it sprinted.

_ Where is it taking me?  _ she wondered, dazed.  _ Back to the supply depot? Why wouldn’t it just eat me here? _

The events of the past few minutes rushed through her mind, making her dizzy.

What was happening?

* * *

“Where  _ are _ they?” Jean asked. “Don’t tell me they really got themselves eaten!” They were all perched on a roof next to the depot, looking for their top two graduates. 

“If that was the case, there would still be Titans left here,” Armin said. “And they would have gotten to us before we were able to resupply.” Their plan had been successful. Even without gas, seven of their top ten graduates were able to slice at the napes of the smaller Titans while the rest of them lured them in and blinded them with guns. They would finally be able to climb the wall to safety...as soon as they found Mikasa and Eren. 

“But why would they just leave!? They need to resupply too! They can’t have much gas left, if any!” 

“Do you think that’s the problem?” Annie asked. “What if they ran out of gas and are grounded somewhere nearby?”

Armin’s eyes widened. “Split up and look for them!” he shouted, surprising everyone with forcefulness of the order. Then again, they were his two best friends.

“Wait!” Connie yelled. “We have another problem! There’s a 15 meter class sprinting towards us!” They all looked and caught sight of it, most of them panicking. 

“Shit, it’s fast!” Marco exclaimed.

“Guys! It has Mikasa in its hand!” Sasha warned, her keen eyes picking out the crucial detail.

Jean’s eyes darkened. “Spread out and kill the bastard!”

Jean, Connie, Sasha, Marco, and Armin all leapt off the roof, ready to swarm the Titan.

But as they got close, it leapt into the air, its body turning horizontally as it soared over them.

_ What!?  _ Jean had never seen a Titan do that before. In fact, he hadn’t ever seen a Titan sprinting like that!

The 15 meter landed on its feet and skidded across the ground, coming to a stop in front of the building. The cadets on the roof all panicked, stumbling back and some falling over. All except for Reiner, Annie, and Bertolt, who watched it nervously with blades at the ready. 

The Titan straightened up and raised the hand that held Mikasa out to the roof,  _ opening its palm _ . 

This caused everyone to freeze in shock. 

Mikasa looked up at the Titan as she stood in its palm, meeting its eyes. They stared right back at her.

_ It wants me to get off,  _ she realized. Not needing any more incentive, she hopped onto the roof, as the cadets watched her in disbelief. 

“It...let her go?”

“Why did it do that?” Mutters broke out amongst them. 

Armin, Jean, Sasha, Connie, and Marco all landed back on the roof, staring up at the now passive Titan.

“Mikasa?” Sasha asked. “Did you, um...tame a Titan?” 

Mikasa shook her head numbly. “It was like this from the moment it showed up,” she said quietly. “It killed another Titan, and then brought me here.”

The confused mutterings increased in volume as the cadets processed that claim. Titans could act strangely at times, but a Titan killing another Titan was unheard of!

“What...is it?” Jean asked warily. 

“I...don’t know,” Mikasa said, continuing to stare at its eyes.  _ So familiar… _

“Mikasa!” Armin shouted suddenly. “Where’s Eren!?” 

The question broke her out of her musings, and Mikasa’s eyes widened. Tears leaked from her eyes as she tilted her head down, covering her mouth with her scarf. 

The implication hit them immediately, and cries of denial rang out. 

“Mikasa!?” Armin asked desperately, not wanting to believe it. 

Mikasa squeezed her eyes shut and just shook her head. 

“What...Eren is…?” Connie trailed off.

“No way…” Sasha whispered. 

Jean gritted his teeth. “That damn...stupid bastard…”  _ When he said he was suicidal enough, I didn’t think he’d actually go and get himself killed! _

Armin sank to his knees. The strange Titan had been forgotten as the cadets grieved for the one who had spurred them to action, who had inspired them to fight for their lives and given them a way to survive. 

“He seemed so...untouchable…” Marco mumbled. 

Jean let out a sigh. “We have to get out of here. Before more Titans come.” He picked up an extra set of gear from the roof. They had brought two sets for their top two graduates.

“Mikasa, take this gear. We need to ascend to the top of the wall.”

Mikasa took the gear and strapped it on, gas and all. “I can’t leave yet,” she said. “I have to get Eren’s body.”

Jean winced. “Mikasa...the longer we stay down here in Trost, the more Titans will pour in from the breach.”

“You guys go on without me. I’ll meet you at the wall,” she said stubbornly. 

“I’m going too,” Armin said, his tone leaving no room for argument. 

“Are you two insane!?” Jean shouted. “We’re safe for now, but that won’t last long! If you two get swarmed out there, you’ll die for sure!”

The 15 meter, which had simply been staring down at them until now, turned its gaze toward Jean, as if something he had said sparked its interest. Jean flinched upon gaining its attention. 

The Titan opened its mouth, and with a raw voice that wasn’t meant for speaking, uttered a single word.

_ “ _ **_Saaaaaaafe,_ ** ” it rumbled, shocking every single cadet into silence. Then it lifted its hand behind its head and dug its fingers into its nape. 

“The hell!?” Jean shouted. Was it trying to  _ kill _ itself?

The Titan ripped out its own nape, before sinking to its knees and falling to the ground. 

“What in the…” Connie muttered. “Why did it do that?” No one answered. Nothing about this Titan made  _ sense _ . 

“Mikasa,” Armin whispered. “Look. In its hand.”

Mikasa stared at the figure held loosely in the dead Titan’s grip. As the Titan began steaming and evaporating, she leapt off the roof on autopilot, slowing her fall with her gear and landing right next to the motionless figure. Armin followed closely behind her. 

It was Eren. 

She walked forward numbly until her arms wrapped around his still body. His perfectly intact, uninjured body. His eyes were closed, face catching the sunlight as he lay as if asleep. 

Mikasa brought her ear to his heart, and heard its strong steady beat. Tears leaked from her eyes again and dripped down her face. She opened her mouth and wailed as she embraced him, letting her renewed joy and relief be known to the world. 

The rest of the cadets stared open mouthed as they watched. Jean said what they were all thinking.

“What the fuck.”

* * *

Eren awoke to the sun in his face. His head was in someone’s lap, and they were running their fingers through his hair. 

Eren smiled lightly. “Mikasa...quit sneaking into my room,” he mumbled. “We’re not kids anymore.”

The hands had stilled. “Eren?” Mikasa’s voice greeted his ears, and he opened his eyes to see her staring down at him in worry. 

Groggily, he raised his head from her lap, her arms pushing up against his back to support him. He looked around and saw his friends and fellow graduates in a small circle around him. Armin was smiling slightly, and Sasha and Connie were blushing. 

“I didn’t need to hear that,” Jean said, sounding vaguely ill.

The memories came rushing back to Eren, and he gasped. “Mikasa!” he said, turning around. “You’re ok?”

She nodded, smiling. 

  
“Where are we?” he asked.

“Back inside the gate,” she said softly. “What do you remember?”

“I...got bitchslapped by a drunken Abnormal,” he said, brow furrowed. “What’s going on? How am I—”

Her hand reached out to cover his mouth, surprising him. 

“The hit was superficial, remember?” she said, eyes carrying a silent warning. “After you cut the nape, you were clipped by its limb as it fell. I carried you back.”

Eren was still confused about what happened, but Mikasa’s message was pretty clear.  _ Don’t talk about it. _ He nodded, and she pulled her hand back. Her eyes wandered off to the side, and Eren followed her gaze. A Garrison soldier was staring at them curiously. 

_ Whatever happened, she doesn’t want him to know about it. _

He decided to follow her lead for now. “So then everyone got resupplied? How many of us made it back?”

“All of us,” Armin answered, smiling proudly. “Everyone you lead into the supply depot made it back here.”

Eren sighed as a burden was lifted from his shoulders. “That’s a relief.”

“It really is quite the feat,” the Garrison soldier spoke up, and Eren turned toward him. His name was Ian, if Eren remembered correctly. “There were over a dozen Titans there, and you suffered not a single casualty. And you were all recent graduates, no less.”

Eren smiled. “Yeah. Don’t underestimate the 104th.”

“You and Ackerman did well to lead them,” Ian praised. “Rest and recover. We still need to find a way to retake Wall Rose, but the evacuation went smoothly. It’s a shame about the vanguard though…” he said with a sigh. 

“Retake Wall Rose,” Armin whispered, his mind hard at work.

“What’s that, Cadet?”

Armin jumped. “Nothing, Sir. Just thinking.”

“I see. Let me know if you come up with anything. I’ll be the first to admit that the situation has us stumped. By the way...there have been strange rumors floating around. Several Garrison soldiers reported that they saw an Abnormal next to the supply depot...rip out its own nape. Effectively killing itself. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Eren’s eyes widened.  _ A Titan...killed itself?  _ He looked back at Mikasa, who was meeting Ian’s gaze.

“We did witness that,” Mikasa stated. “We were about to take it out ourselves when it happened. Though we couldn’t guess what led to such behavior, even in an Abnormal.”

Ian narrowed his eyes, as if trying to detect deceit in her words. Eventually, he shrugged and walked away.

Eren turned back toward Mikasa.

“Ok, so what really happened?”

There was an uncomfortable silence. 

“You really don’t remember?” Connie asked. 

“How would I? I blacked out.”

“Eren,” Mikasa said. “You turned into a 15 meter Titan, killed the Abnormal, and brought me back to the supply depot. Then you came out of the Titan’s nape.”

Eren opened his mouth to tell her to pull the other one, but closed it. Mikasa wasn’t one for joking around. 

“I...turned into a Titan?” he repeated dumbly. He looked around at the others, and saw that they were all awaiting some explanation from him. Had they seen him emerge from the nape as Mikasa claimed? And if so, had every single one of them covered for him just now?

“You don’t know how or why it happened?” Reiner asked, looking extremely curious. 

“No idea,” Eren replied. “Is that why my injuries healed? Did I...regenerate?”

“We can only assume so,” Armin said. 

“Damn,” he said. Who had ever heard of a human turning into a Titan? Suddenly though, his mind flashed back to the strange dream he’d kept having since Wall Maria fell. Of his dad saying he needed to learn to control his power. 

_ In the dream, he injected me with something. Could it be? _

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Eren admitted. “But I’m glad I was able to save us both.”

“Just don’t make a habit of doing suicidal shit, you bastard,” Jean huffed. “Oh, who am I kidding. This is you we’re talking about…”

“So, I guess we’re heading back to HQ soon,” Eren said. 

“Not yet,” Armin replied, and everyone looked at him curiously.

“What do you mean, Armin?” Thomas asked. “What's left to be done?”

Armin stared out in the direction of the wall, where the breach had occurred. “Eren, whatever you did, do you think you could do it again?” he asked.

The cadets looked shocked by the question. 

“You want him to turn into a Titan  _ again _ ?” Sasha asked. “Wasn’t once enough?”

Armin stared at him. “Can you do it?” he asked again.

Eren looked down. “I…” Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind. 

_ “The injection will result in some memory loss. But their memories will be your guide!” _

He grabbed his head in pain.

“Eren! Are you ok?” Mikasa asked.

“I...I can do it,” Eren told Armin, shocking everyone “At least, I think so. Why?”

  
  


“Ian!” The team leader turned around to see three of the cadets marching towards him, led by the one who’d called out to him. 

“Arlert? Shouldn’t you all be getting back to HQ?”

“We can’t yet. We need to speak to Commander Pixis.”

Ian’s eyes widened. “Pixis? What for?”

“You told me to let you know if I had any ideas. We’ve come up with a plan to retake Wall Rose.”

Ian opened and closed his mouth several times. “Right. Don’t underestimate the 104th…” he repeated. “I’ll take you to him, but you better not waste his time.”

  
  


“An operation to retake the wall?” Pixis repeated, facing the three cadets. “While I’m skeptical, I’m more than willing to listen. What is this plan of yours?”

“I’ll just say it outright,” Armin said. “During our attempts to escape Trost after the evacuation, Eren Yeager was mortally wounded. He was able to survive, as we found out later, because he has the ability to turn into a Titan.”

Scoffs and mocking laughter met their ears at the ridiculous claim. 

“Didn’t I tell you not to waste his time?” Ian asked. “What is this nonsense?”

“I assure you, it’s anything but a waste of time,” Mikasa said.

Pixis raised an eyebrow at them. “I don’t suppose you have any proof of this assertion.”

Armin nodded at Eren, who drew his blade from his 3DMG and used it to slice open his palm. Immediately, the wound began to steam, and sealed itself within seconds.

The laughter and mockery immediately turned to fear and paranoia. 

“What in God’s name?”

“What are you, you damn brat!?” 

As some of the Garrison soldiers began to draw their blades, Pixis held up a hand, eyes focused intently on Eren.

“Cadet Eren Yeager,” he said. “Am I to believe that you are a Titan?”

“I’m human,” Eren insisted.

“But through unknown means, he’s acquired the ability to turn into a 15 meter Titan,” Armin added. We believe that he’ll be able to do it again. When he does, he should be able to pick up the boulder in the middle of Trost and use it to seal the breach.”

The commander’s eyes widened. “That huge boulder? It has to be at least twice the size of any 15 meter. Even if I’m to entrust the lives of my men to you, do you believe you’d be able to lift such a thing?”

“I can,” Eren said firmly. “And I will.”

Pixis stared at him for a moment. “A good answer,” he said finally. “If this works, it will be humanity’s first real victory against the Titans.” He turned to the surrounding Garrison soldiers, who were listening in disbelief. “Not a word of this conversation gets out,” he said. “I will announce the parameters of this operation myself. Am I clear?”

“Sir!” they all saluted. Crazy plan or not, Pixis commanded a deep respect and undying loyalty from all the men under him.

* * *

Convincing the remaining Garrison soldiers to aid in another operation in Trost was a difficult ordeal. The threat of defection was very real after the horrors most of them had already witnessed. 

“I will now unveil the plan to retake Trost! Our primary objective is to reseal the hole in Wall Rose! Many of you have heard rumors of a Titan behaving strangely after the evacuation of Trost! The truth is, these rumors held validity! I would like to introduce you to Eren Yeager, a recent graduate of the 104th division!”

Eren stepped forward and saluted. He wasn’t sure what Pixis was planning, but there was something about the man he found trustworthy. 

“This young cadet was a volunteer in a cutting edge experimentation program meant to utilize the power of the Titans in a human body! Using this power, he will lift the boulder in the middle of the Trost district, and use it to seal the breach! Your job is to protect him at all costs!”

His words were met with immediate backlash, the soldiers feeling as if they were being sent to their deaths for a crackpot plan. Soon, it looked like a rebellion was afoot. Until Pixis shouted again.

“Those that feel they are not fit to serve in this mission...are free to leave!” His words silenced the outcries. “This once, I will rescind the order to execute all defectors! Humanity stands at the precipice! We cannot afford to be killing each other! So if you would follow me in this endeavor,  _ offer your hearts _ !” 

In the end, most of them stayed, while a significant portion of the soldiers left without resistance.  _ All of these men that stayed...they’re relying on me to make sure this plan is a success. Every single one of them,  _ Eren thought.  _ Not only that, but my fellow graduates are down there too. We’re so close to making it through the day. I can’t let them down now! _

* * *

Eren and Mikasa both ran towards the edge of the wall. Mikasa had been assigned to defend Eren along with the elites of the Garrison. Rico, a silver haired Garrison elite, had already stressed how crucial it was that he pull this off. She was blunt in saying that a lot of soldiers would die in this operation, which Eren knew to be true, and that it was up to him to ensure that they’re deaths weren’t meaningless. A lot of pressure, but Eren respected her for saying it nonetheless. When they arrived at the edge, they both looked down to see Titans swarming the wall. 

_ There’s an army of them. _

“No matter how you look at it, we’re not going to be able to lure all of those successfully,” Rico observed. “Just clearing a path for you is going to result in heavy casualties.”

Eren stared intently down at them. “Rico. I’d like your permission to engage and clear the path myself.”

Her gaze snapped to him. “Are you insane, Yeager? Have you forgotten what I told you? Your job is to move the boulder! What makes you think you can take all those on your own?”

“I haven’t forgotten. That’s exactly why I’m making this request. I plan to take them out in my Titan form to reduce casualties.”

Mikasa shot him a worried look. Eren understood why. He had never used his powers consciously before. Last time, he had subconsciously given himself a command to follow. To protect Mikasa and the other cadets. He had woken up later to find that the command had been followed to the letter, but a command as specific as “Take out those Titans, then move the boulder to seal the breach?” There was no guarantee it would work. It was a dangerous time to be experimenting. 

Eren knew that. But he also knew that with this power of his, he was likely humanity’s best hope for a brighter future. He had to learn to control this power as well as he possibly could. And he wouldn’t do that by not challenging himself.

“I’ll take down those Titans swarming the wall,” Eren said. “Once they’re all dealt with, follow behind me. As soon as I reach the boulder, I’ll be relying on you all. Do you concur?” 

Rico met his gaze, weighing all the risks and benefits of his idea. If he tired himself out or otherwise compromised his ability to lift and carry the boulder, this will have been for nothing. But if he succeeded, many lives would be saved. 

“Your plan is approved,” she said. “Don’t screw this up, Yeager. If you do, Pixis will have my head. And I’ll have yours.”

Eren nodded and turned back to the swarm. Mikasa was looking at him, clearly worried, but she didn’t say anything. 

_ She believes I can do this,  _ he realized. The thought made him that much more determined.  _ It’s true that even with the strength of a Titan, there’s no guarantee I can move that boulder. Much less after taking down twenty Titans at once. But… _

He stared down at his fist in determination.

_ The Titan isn’t all I have! _

He thought of the day this all started. Of the Colossal Titan kicking in the wall. Of his mother’s death as a result. Of the Armored Titan breaching the gate, and ripping what little freedom they had away from them.

“I’m ready,” he said.

Rico nodded. “Go.”

Eren jumped off of the wall, letting his rage fill him. He had never felt so clear minded. 

_ I have to trust my gut on this one! _

He bit down on his hand, and lightning struck. 

It was nothing like the last time. Rather than blacking out, he felt as his senses left his body, only to reignite as the Titan fully formed. He glared down at the swarm of Titans, each of which now looked a lot smaller from his perspective. 

He landed with one foot on the napes of two of the Titans, instantly killing them as he stomped down. The impact blew the rest of the Titans off their feet, and he straightened up, stomping two more flat before they could rise. The rest of the Titans roared as they charged him, and he began systematically taking them down. He used his strength, speed, and hand to hand combat skills to the fullest, aiming for the nape with every strike. 

Atop the wall, Mikasa stared in awe. “It’s nothing like last time,” she breathed. Rico was staring as well, hardly believing what she was seeing. 

“What do you mean?” she asked, without taking her eyes off the sight. 

“He’s not just acting on instinct this time. He’s only going for the napes. He’s  _ conscious _ in there.”

Eren roared as he thrust his fist through the neck of a charging Titan and out the back of the nape. He yanked his hand free and spun, decapitating another one through its weak spot. Both fell, unmoving. 

Three more charged at him, and he shot forward, avoiding their clumsy movements. He weaved in between two of them, reaching out to dig his fingers into their napes and ripping them out. Then he dodged around the arm of the third, getting behind it and punching its nape to pulp. 

_ Eight left. _

His green eyes moved furiously between what was left of the swarm, picking out the weak links and the ones that were most dangerous.  _ There. An Abnormal. _

As they converged on him from all sides, Eren leapt above their heads, landing outside of their circle. The Abnormal chose that moment to leap at him, but Eren was ready. He dropped to the ground, catching himself with one hand and sweeping his leg upwards as it sailed over him. His foot sliced through the nape, removing the Titan’s head as it fell to the ground.

He righted himself, before darting between two advancing 12 meters and punching both through the neck. 

Six left. All the 10 meter and above Titans were gone. The rest were around half his height or smaller, so he started using his feet a lot more. He kicked a 4 meter into a 3 meter, reducing both of them to puddles of blood and gore. He stomped on top of a 6 meter, his foot crushing its nape on the way down. He charged forward and swept his leg through two 5 meters at once, killing them both. 

_ And then there was one,  _ he thought viciously. 

The 8 meter shrieked and ran at him with no sense of self preservation whatsoever. He stood idly as it drew close, then stuck his foot in front of its neck when it got in range. It impaled itself on his leg, falling limp. 

He kicked the Titan corpse off of his foot with a huff. He observed his surroundings, taking in the sight of the twenty evaporating Titan carcasses, and let out a breath of steam. Then he turned toward the boulder in the center of Trost, and charged at it with a roar. 

“Follow behind Eren Yeager!” he heard Rico shout. “Defend him at all costs!” A chorus of affirmatives met his ear, and he knew the operation had finally started. He allowed himself to run at a slower pace in order to let them catch up, and soon he could see someone blurring across the rooftops beside him.  _ Mikasa.  _ The rest soon followed, and a symphony of wires spinning, hooks shooting, and gas blowing met his ears. 

He skidded to a stop in front of the boulder.  _ We’re born free. All of us. _

He thought of the ocean. Of vast mountains and frozen tundras. He reached down with both arms.

_ Some deny it. Some try to take it away.  _

His mind flashed back to the cabin on the mountains. His muscles tensed as he pulled upwards.

_ To hell with them! _

The boulder came free from the earth as he lifted it over his head with a roar. 

From atop the wall, the other cadets watched the display. “He’s doing it!” Jean said incredulously. “He actually lifted the damn thing like it’s made of foam!”

Armin was just as shocked.  _ I suspected he’d be able to lift it with enough conviction, but that’s crazy! Is that really the strength of his Titan form, or… _

His eyes widened as the realization hit him.

_ That’s why you were so confident, Eren! You’re actually using a rageboost as a Titan!  _

The implications were awe inspiring. If Eren’s unique ability was compatible with his Titan body, there might really be no limits to what he could do!

Eren walked, slow but steady. The Titans in front caught notice of him, some walking towards him from the surrounding area. Mikasa was a whirlwind of death, pivoting through the air and cutting them down one by one. The rest of the Garrison were pulling their weight as well. He gritted his teeth as he heard some of them scream, indicating that they’d been caught and eaten. 

_ Move forward!  _

_ Flaming mountains. Frozen earth. It doesn’t matter what’s out there in the end! As long as we get to see it, we’re free. And that’s worth fighting for!  _

The last of the Titans in his path were taken down by Mikasa, Ian, and Rico. 

_ Fight.  _

His legs sped up as he stepped over Titan corpses.

_ Fight! _

He started running, the boulder still balanced above his head.

_ FIGHT! _

He finally reached the hole, and roared as he threw the boulder right into it, plugging the breach.

  
  


“He did it!” Connie shouted. “The crazy bastard did it!” 

“Now it’s just a matter of killing the ones still inside the walls!” Jean said. 

“Alright, what are we waiting for? Let’s keep going!” Sasha said. 

“Can you two hold out?” Jean asked. “I want to find out where Marco and the others went.”

“Go ahead, Jean! We’re on a roll!” Connie said. 

_ This is it…  _ Eren thought.  _ Humanity’s first victory. _ With a sigh of relief, he collapsed where he stood, all of his rage and energy spent. 

_ Now...how do I get out of this thing? _

As soon as the thought entered his mind, he felt his senses recede from the Titan, and suddenly he was seeing things from his own eyes once again. He emerged halfway from the nape, gasping for breath, and fought his way out of it. 

_ I’m going to have to learn a better way to do this… _

“Eren!” Mikasa shouted, hooking onto his Titan’s neck and landing next to him. “Are you ok?”

“Fine,” he said. “Just tired.” He grabbed her hand and she helped him out before they both used their gear to descend to ground level. 

_ My gear stays intact with my body and clothes, even inside the nape.  _ Eren filed the useful information away for later. 

“Watch out you two!” Rico shouted. They both turned around to see two 15 meters towering over them.  _ Stragglers! _

They got ready to launch themselves up and take out one each, when a green blur shot towards the two Titans, spinning rapidly. It sliced through the nape of the first before doubling back, still spinning, to take out the other. 

_ So fast!  _ Eren thought.  _ I couldn’t even see where his hooks were anchoring! _

The figure landed on top of the 15 meter’s dead corpse, his back turned to them. Eren stared at the emblem on his cloak with reverence.

_ The wings of freedom… _

The figure looked over his shoulder at them, face stoic. 

“Hey, you brats,” he said. “What’s the situation here?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

Captain Levi. Humanity’s Strongest Soldier. 

Eren stared at him out of the corner of his eye. He had heard stories of the man. Pretty much everyone had. He was said to be a one man army, his skills in Titan slaying unmatched. Eren had once heard a joke from the Garrison soldiers claiming that the walls had been built to protect the Titans from  _ him _ . 

He was...shorter than Eren imagined. But his skills clearly had not been exaggerated. 

Eren was in a seated position now, being supported by Mikasa. He was exhausted. By now, the last of the Titans had been dealt with, and Garrison soldiers and recent graduates alike had converged around the sealed breach, staring in wonder. Armin had rushed down to meet them once the hole had been plugged, and was now rushing to explain the situation to the impassive squad leader. 

When he was finished, Levi turned toward Eren. “You have the power to turn into a Titan?” he asked, as if wanting to hear it from Eren himself.

“Yes,” Eren said as he stood. 

“And you used it to take back Wall Rose.”

Eren nodded slowly, wondering where this was going. 

“I see,” Levi said. “And what are your plans now, Eren Yeager?” 

Eren blinked, but was quick to answer. “My plans haven’t changed. I’m going to join the Survey Corps.”

There was a gleam in Levi’s eyes that Eren couldn’t quite decipher. 

“Eren Yeager.” Eren turned around and saw a squad of soldiers staring him down, led by a man that was staring at Eren with disdain. 

_ Are they Military Police? What are they doing here? _

“Yes?” he asked, slightly tense from the way they were all looking at him. 

“It has come to the attention of the Royal Government and the Military Police that you possess a power which is a threat to humanity,” he said, causing Eren to stiffen. “By order of Commander-in-Chief Zackley, you are to be taken into custody to await trial by martial law.”

Mikasa was in front of him in an instant. The statement was met by cries of outrage from the surrounding soldiers and cadets. The Garrison soldiers cussed out the man, telling him to  _ fuck off back to the interior,  _ and  _ go suck off the king,  _ among other things.

“Hey, are you serious!?” Jean shouted. “If it wasn’t for this idiot, the Titans would still be pouring in! We would have let Trost slip away entirely! What bone in his body is a threat to humanity!?” 

Eren had no time to be taken aback by Jean’s praise. His mind was raging as he glared at the man in front of him.  _ They didn’t even fight...they were safe inside the inner wall as we fought and bled to take back Trost, and now he’s questioning my loyalty to humanity?  _ Eren fought to keep his composure. 

“Regardless, the potential threat he poses cannot be overlooked,” the man said. “My only question is: will you try to resist, or will you come quietly?” he asked, turning his gaze back to Eren. 

Eren’s mind worked furiously.  _ My body is in bad shape from turning into a Titan a second time. It seems there’s a limit to how much I can transform. Still, if I’m angry enough, and I definitely am, I might be able to make the change one more time. Escaping would be easy after that. But...what would that accomplish?  _

“The answer should be obvious,” Mikasa said coldly, drawing her blades. “I’ve trained for years in the art of cutting up flesh. Normally my skills are reserved for the Titans, but I’ll be happy to apply it in less humanitarian ways should you take a step closer.”

The MP squad looked intimidated when faced with the dark look in her eyes, and raised their guns. In response, Armin, Sasha, Connie, and Jean raised their blades as well, and dozens of surrounding Garrison soldiers took aim at the vastly outnumbered Military Police. These were all men and women who would have been sent to fight the swarm of Titans had Eren not taken them all out.

_ They’re all ready to defend me,  _ Eren thought, shaken.  _ But...that will just make things worse.  _

“Stop,” he said, his voice carrying through the air. “I’ll come quietly.”

Mikasa’s gaze snapped towards him. “Don’t you dare!” she growled. 

“Eren!” Sasha said in dismay. 

“Are you serious right now!?” Connie asked. 

Eren stared down the Military Police and nodded.

Mikasa glared at him. “Eren, if you think I’ll just let them take you—”

“Calm down,” Eren hissed, silencing her, before he raised his voice. “The human race still faces the threat of extinction. Like Commander Pixis said, we can’t afford to fight amongst ourselves!”

His words rippled throughout the gathered crowd, the Garrison soldiers taking their eyes off the MPs and listening to what he had to say.

“I am a soldier,” he said, glaring at the man leading the Military Police, who was still staring at him in disgust. “A sword of humanity. This power that you hate me for...I’ve already proven that I’m willing to use it to aid our survival. If I have to shoulder your hatred to prove it, I will.”

The surrounding soldiers were silent as they heard his words, and reluctantly, they began to lower their weapons.

Pixis himself had made his way down to the crowd by now, and the MP squad leader turned toward him.

“Commander Pixis,” he greeted stiffly.

“Commander Dok,” Pixis greeted back. 

Eren’s eyes narrowed.  _ So this guy’s the commander of the Military Police. It really would have been bad if they’d shot at him.  _

“I assume you don’t intend to impede our duties?” Niles Dok asked.

Pixis’ features were stony as he regarded the other commander. “If Zackley has called for his case to be examined, I will of course, stand aside,” he said. “Assuming that Eren Yeager will be held in the neutral courthouse. I will send some of my men to guard him alongside yours. We wouldn’t want any  _ incidents _ to occur prior to the trial, would we?”

Commander Dok glared. “Of course not,” he bit out. 

_ So his hands are tied, but Pixis is willing to defend me if he can,  _ Eren thought, mind still at work.

Two Military Police came forward with handcuffs, and Mikasa looked like she was resisting the urge to, as she put it, cut up flesh. 

“I’ll be ok,” he whispered, meeting her eyes. She looked torn, but finally gave him a miniscule nod. 

As Eren was handcuffed and led away, he racked his brain for anything he knew about trials under martial law. Darius Zackly had the final say, but he almost always took the perspectives of the three military branches into account. Pixis would most likely speak on his behalf. This Dok guy clearly would not. That meant the result would likely be decided by the Survey Corps.

_ I’ve always looked up to Commander Erwin, but it’s not as if I’ve ever met the guy. I guess I just have to hope for the best. _

He missed the exchange behind him as he was taken away. Commander Pixis locked eyes with Captain Levi, who had been watching the proceedings silently, and a silent message passed between the two.

* * *

Eren stared at the wall of his cell, bored out of his mind. It had been several hours since he’d been left here. There was an underlying tension between the guards outside. The ones that were from the Military Police would send him glares now and then, but the presence of Ian and a couple other Garrison soldiers kept them from trying anything with the prisoner. 

Ian had gone as far as to bring him food and water in the first hour, after the Military Police flat out refused. Eren was grateful for that. He hadn’t eaten anything since before the Colossal Titan appeared. Feeling petty and vengeful, Eren turned to the MP who was sending him the most glares, deciding to mess with him. 

“Can I go to the bathroom?” 

“You just went ten minutes ago,” he said coldly. 

“So, that’s a no?”

“What do you think, Titan scum?” The two Garrison soldiers next to Ian were glaring, but knew better than to start something over verbal abuse. 

“I can always just crap on the floor if that makes your job easier,” Eren said, and the Garrison soldiers went from holding back snarls to holding back laughter. 

The man sputtered. “Wha—you bastard!” he yelled. 

“Calm down, it was just a suggestion.”

“Are you fucking with me, you damn Titan!?” 

_ Yes.  _ “If I was a Titan, would I threaten you with my shit of all things?”

The man’s face flushed red as the Garrison soldiers doubled over, choking on their mirth. 

“Yeager,” Ian said, looking faintly amused. “I can give you five minutes if you really need it.”

“It’s fine. I don’t really have to go.”

The MP started swearing bloody murder at Eren as he turned back to face the wall. 

_ This guy is too easy… _

A minute later, the door creaked open, and two soldiers walked in. Eren eyed them speculatively.  _ They’re scouts,  _ he realized. 

One of the scouts, a woman with dark hair and glasses, stepped right up to the bars and stared at Eren with a crazed gleam in her eyes.

“So this is him!?” she shouted in glee. “You’re the Big Friendly Titan, aren’t you?”

Taken aback by her demeanor, Eren blinked. “Huh?”

“I can hardly contain myself!” the woman continued. “I can’t wait until I get to run some experiments on you freely! Of course, the trial will have to come first!” She pulled out a pair of keys and unlocked the cell. Understanding that they were here to bring him to the courtroom, Eren got to his feet and walked out. The other scout leaned forward and sniffed at him, before smirking, creeping Eren out. 

“Um…” 

“Oh, don’t mind Mike. That’s just a habit of his,” the woman said. “My name is Hange by the way. Come along!”

Eren followed behind the two silently until they reached the courtroom. He looked around as he was led in, and his eyes immediately found Mikasa and Armin. He was relieved to see them, realizing they were here as witnesses. 

He also saw the three Military Commanders, as well as Captain Levi. As he thought, these people would decide his fate along with Zackly. 

He was shackled to a post in the center of the room, facing rows of politicians and military personnel. 

“Eren Yeager,” Zackly began. “This trial is a military tribunal. Your case is a matter of security to every human living in the walls, and thus will be decided under martial law. After taking into account the arguments of the three military branches, I will have the final say in your fate. That includes whether you live or die. Do you have any objections to this?”

“None,” Eren said. He would sooner put his life in the hands of people like Pixis and Erwin than a jury full of political shitheads who were easily swayed by fear. He wisely did not voice this thought. 

“Your cooperation is appreciated. I’ll get straight to the point. Concealing your existence has proven impossible. In order to avoid mass hysteria, it is our job to ensure that your power remains under control. To this end, we will be deciding which of the three military branches retains custody of you. First, I will hear the proposal of Commander Nile Dok of the Military Police.”

Dok stepped forward. Unlike when he’d arrived in Trost, there was no trace of disdain on his face. He looked completely impassive. 

“I offer the following proposal. Hand Eren Yeager over to the custody of the Military Police. After a thorough examination of his powers, we will dispose of him. It is true that he helped humanity achieve victory today. However, his existence is also stirring up rebellion and unrest, and the potential threat he poses cannot be forgotten. We will learn as much from him as we possibly can, and then he will die in service of humanity.”

“There’s no need!” a wall cultist interjected. “He’s vermin that has defiled the Walls bestowed on us by God’s mercy! He should be killed at once!”

“Pastor Nick. As I stated at the beginning of the trial, this matter will be resolved by the military, under martial law,” Zackly said, sounding bored. “Seeing as you are a  _ priest _ , your input holds no weight, and you are merely here as an observer. Remain silent.”

The wall cultist sat down, stewing in his anger. 

“Does that conclude your proposal, Commander Dok?” Zackly asked.

“It does.”

“Then I will hear from Commander Erwin Smith of the Survey Corps next.”

Erwin stepped forward. “I offer the following proposal. Grant custody of Eren Yeager to the Survey Corps. We will offer him an immediate place within our ranks, and utilize his power to retake Wall Maria. That is all.”

There was silence in the court. Erwin’s eyes met Eren’s for a brief moment, and Eren was inwardly relieved.

_ Captain Levi definitely spoke with him. He must have said  _ something _ flattering if that’s all there is to Erwin’s proposal. _

Zackly seemed surprised by how brief the statement was, but after a few questions about the logistics of the operation Erwin planned to carry out, carried on. 

“Finally, we will hear the proposal of Commander Dot Pixis of the Garrison.”

Pixis stepped forward. “Before I give my proposal, I would like to share some information with you all,” he said. “Eren Yeager has been a full fledged soldier for less than a day. Despite this, since his recent graduation, he has already developed a long list of accomplishments in service of humanity. During the past several hours, I have taken the liberty of compiling a full and thorough report of Eren Yeager’s actions since Wall Rose was breached, backed by the accounts of eyewitnesses and Eren Yeager’s fellow cadets. I believe this information will go a long way to enlighten us as to his intentions and character.”

There were various murmurs in the courtroom. Not many had expected this.

“With your approval, I will give my report now.”

“Proceed. I will hear it,” Zackly said, looking interested for the first time since the trial began.

“Cadet Eren Yeager graduated second in his class, right behind young Mikasa Ackerman,” Pixis began. “It was while he was on maintenance duty atop the walls that the Colossal Titan appeared and breached Wall Rose.”

The murmurings increased.

“After helping to prevent one of his fellow graduates from falling to their deaths, Eren Yeager’s first act was to confront the Colossal Titan himself, and according to the accounts of his classmates, he nearly succeeded in killing it, save for the fact that it disappeared into thin air like it did on the day Wall Maria fell.”

Dead silence. 

“Later, he was assigned to Squad 34, tasked with slaying as many Titans as possible in order to buy time for the evacuation. I should note here that the vanguard, consisting of veteran soldiers, was almost entirely annihilated by the time his squad arrived, leaving only recent graduates on the battlefield.  Thomas Wagner, one such graduate, recounted that Eren Yeager prevented him from being eaten by an Abnormal within less than a minute of their arrival in Trost.”

Eren’s mouth fell open in surprise. 

“Following that event, Eren Yeager continued to lead his squad to victory through their encounters. I spoke with the other members of his squad as well: Mina Carolina, Nack Tierce, Milieus Zeremski, and Armin Arlert. All of which attested to the likelihood that they would not have survived the Battle of Trost without his intervention.”

Eren turned his head to meet the gaze of Armin, who stared back at him readily.

“At a certain point in their mission, Eren Yeager and his squad hit a roadblock. It came to their attention that the supply depot had been overrun by over a dozen Titans, with the cadets tasked with supplying soldiers with full gas tanks, functioning gear, and sharpened blades all trapped inside. Upon realizing this, Eren Yeager decided to touch base with the other squads full of graduates, and along with Mikasa Ackerman, who had recently finished aiding in the evacuation, led them in an operation to recapture the supply depot.”

“This operation was only possible because both Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman defended the depot from the outside. Due to their actions, there was not a single casualty in this operation. In fact, other than the few cadets that were eaten alive  _ before _ Eren Yeager was able to meet with the other squads, there was not a single casualty at all. I will repeat this for the sake of clarity: faced with over a dozen Titans, among a handful of squads full of fresh graduates, not a single soldier was mortally wounded under Eren Yeager’s lead. At least, none other than Eren Yeager himself.”

Pixis let that statement hang before he continued. “It was while defending the life of Mikasa Ackerman, whose gear had malfunctioned, that Eren Yeager received life threatening injuries at the hands of a rather nasty Abnormal.”

This time, Eren’s eyes met Mikasa’s, and much like Armin, she met his gaze with pride. 

“It was at this moment when his powers awakened. Transforming into a Titan of the 15 meter class, Eren Yeager killed the Abnormal and carried Mikasa Ackerman back to the supply depot. Upon arrival, he was understandably attacked by the other graduates. This is where things get interesting. Despite the hostility he was faced with, Eren Yeager did not retaliate. This may not seem like much of a surprise...until you consider that he was not actually conscious or aware of himself at the time.”

Shouts of denial rang out among the Military Police, and it took Eren a moment to understand why. The notion that he was a threat to humanity in his Titan form was rendered complete and utter horseshit in the face of that piece of information. 

“Since there seems to be some disbelief, I will emphasize this point,” Pixis said, looking just a tad smug. “The accounts of over two dozen graduates who were present at the time verify that Eren Yeager was completely unconscious when he emerged from the nape of his Titan form moments later. What this means is that despite acting  _ entirely _ on instinct the first time he activated his powers, Eren Yeager’s first impulse was to not only kill another Titan, but to save the life of his fellow soldier and avoid retaliating in any way when the other graduates attempted to kill him. What does this say about his intentions toward humanity? I’ll let you decide. For now, I’ll finish my report.”

“When Eren Yeager awakened and learned from his comrades in arms what had occurred, his next course of action was to follow along with the plan of young Armin Arlert to retake Trost. The two along with Ackerman brought this plan to my attention. This is when I met Eren Yeager myself. When I asked if he could really carry out such an operation mere minutes after coming to terms with the nature of his abilities, he did not even hesitate, and I decided to place my trust in him.”

“The plan was for my Garrison soldiers to lure the majority of the Titans away from his path and defend him while he used the boulder to seal the breach in Wall Rose. As you can imagine, this type of plan, which I and my elites devised ourselves, would have resulted in the deaths of countless men under my command. Key word,  _ would have _ . Because Eren Yeager recognized this inevitable danger, and took it upon himself to defeat most of the Titans in his path himself before moving the boulder.”

He let his words sink in as the courtroom was rendered silent once more. 

“To recap, in his first day of service, this young man saved the lives of dozen of graduates, and several dozen of my men, before sealing the breach and preventing countless more deaths, securing humanity’s first ever victory against the Titans. So here is my question to you all. Even disregarding the massive advantage inherent in having a Titan of such power on our side, do you believe that we can  _ afford _ to lose such a soldier? Can we even consider throwing away such potential and drive? Are we to discard humanity’s first ray of hope after a century of despair with our own hands? Are we to  _ damn ourselves? _ ”

No one spoke up. Eren’s eyes stung. 

After a few moments, Zackly cleared his throat. “That was indeed very enlightening,” he said. “Am I to assume then, that your proposal is to grant custody of Eren Yeager to the Garrison?”

“Ah, that,” Pixis said. “On that matter, I will be supporting Commander Erwin’s proposal. That is all.”

“I...see,” Zackly said. “Well, I think the facts are self explanatory, for the most part. In that case—”

“If I may, Commander-in-Chief,” Dok spoke up. “I would like to put forth a rebuttal to Commander Pixis’ arguments.”

“My opinion has been heavily swayed on this matter already,” Zackly stated. “But I’ll allow it.”

“I believe that Commander Pixis has left a crucial factor out of his report. Mainly that his sources are biased.”

“Explain.”

“Our records indicate that two of Eren Yeager’s fellow cadets, whose accounts seem to have been heavily featured heavily in Commander Pixis’ report, have quite the conflict of interest. They were both close friends of Eren Yeager from a young age. Mikasa Ackerman in particular was adopted by his family after a tragic incident that befell her.”

Eren’s hands balled into fists.  _ He wouldn’t. _

“This brings me to my next misgiving. Commander Pixis has raised an interesting point to consider regarding Eren Yeager’s humanity. This tragic incident involving Ackerman occurred when he was only nine. Upon learning of her abduction at the hands of three kidnappers, he tracked them down, and together the two killed the three men in cold blood. While a case could be made that this was in self defense, I would like to bring to question the humanity of someone who could stab two men through the heart at the tender age of nine.”

Eren was shaking in rage.  _ Seriously? After all that, the best defense he can come up with is that we killed those three scum to survive? _

Zackly’s face was impassive. “Ms. Ackerman,” he said. “Due to your involvement in this matter, I would hear your voice. Have you anything to say on behalf of Eren Yeager’s actions that day?”

“Yes,” Mikasa said, voice cold as she once again glared at Dok. “Those three  _ kidnappers _ , as Commander Dok would put it, were sex traffickers.”

There was a moment of silence before half the courtroom exploded, incensed soldiers and politicians alike denouncing Dok, who remained stoic through it all. 

Zackly called for order, and Mikasa continued. “Despite what the commander’s poor word choice might imply, these men were not after a ransom. They were not interested in negotiating. Their motive was to sell a nine year old girl into a life of sexual slavery.”

“Mikasa…” Eren muttered under his breath. It pained him greatly that she was forced to talk about this in a courtroom for his sake. 

“I might also add that they killed that girl’s parents.  _ In cold blood,”  _ Mikasa said, throwing Dok’s words back in his face. “That nine year old girl fought to survive that day, but she could not have done so on her own. And contrary to the Commander’s opinion, _ I _ question the humanity of anyone who would sympathize with such  _ beasts in human form _ .”

Dok bristled. “Are you questioning my motives,  _ Cadet _ ?”

“Not at all. I know exactly what motivates people like you.”

“Everything I do is for the sake of humanity,” Dok said, getting defensive. “But humanity has fallen far when we would come to the defense of a goddamn  _ Titan _ .”

This elicited a series of outcries from both sides of the court. Zackly tried to regain order, but the room had fallen into a frenzy.

“He’s right! We can’t be fooled by its attempts to gain our trust!”

“The girl’s probably with him! She’s defending his actions for a reason!”

“How do we know she’s not a Titan too!?”

Eren felt something inside him snap. “She has nothing to do with this!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, causing the more vocal members of the court to recoil in fear. “Maybe I  _ am _ a monster, but that has nothing to do with her!”

Mikasa stared at him with wide eyes.

“See!? He’s defending her too! What else could that mean!?”

“Dissect them both!”

“ _ SHUT UP! _ ” Eren shouted, attempting to stand. He immediately felt resistance in the form of the chains that anchored him to the pole, but in his fury, he didn’t care. “LEAVE HER OUT OF IT!” he screamed, failing to notice that the chains that kept him immobile were being warped under the strain of his rage. 

He was the only not to notice, however. Zackly’s eyes widened, and some of the members of the court fell out of their seats as the metal made a creaking sound under the force. Others actually began running for the door. 

Captain Levi jumped down from his seat, took several measured steps over to Eren, and kicked him hard across the face. 

Eren’s head snapped to the side, and he felt a bruise start to form on his bloody jaw. 

In the stands, Mikasa started forward, face twisted in rage, but she was grabbed by Armin and stopped.

“ _ Calm down, you damn hothead _ ,” Levi muttered quietly enough for only Eren to hear. Eren struggled to contain his anger, and after a moment, to everyone’s surprise, knelt back down. Levi turned around to face the courtroom. 

“You’re all so noisy. Alright, we’ve all heard why we’re here,” he said to the courtroom, speaking for the first time since the trial began. “This brat can turn into a Titan. With that said, do you think any of you pencil pushers from within the interior is capable of killing him?” His eyes scanned the courtroom. “I’ve killed Titans in droves. Hundreds of them have fallen at my hands. On the off chance this kid turned against humanity, and I think Pixis has already said enough about that, he would be no different. So pull your heads out of your asses and keep relying on the Survey Corps like you’ve been doing for the past five years. That’s the quickest way you can get back to fattening yourselves up off of taxpayer money and, in Pastor Nick’s case, rubbing your dick against Wall Sina.”

  
For the fifth time that day, the courtroom was rendered silent. 

Zackly looked like he was nursing a migraine. “I’ve heard enough,” he said, rubbing his temples. “I’m placing Eren Yeager into the custody of the Survey Corps. Everyone have a nice day, and get out of my courtroom.”


	7. Chapter 7

“You handled yourself well in there,” Commander Erwin said, as Hange handed Eren an ice pack. Night had fallen, and Erwin had taken him aside to discuss the future along with Captain Levi and Hange after bringing him to one of the Survey Corps’ few barracks within the interior.

“I guess,” Eren replied, bringing the ice to his jaw. “I kind of lost my cool at the end, though.”

“Perhaps, but luckily, Zackly seemed to have already made up his mind,” Erwin said “Your cooperation coupled with the report Pixis gave seemed to give him a high opinion of your character. Thanks to that, we have a lot more freedom in this matter than I initially expected we would.”

  
Before Eren could ask what that meant, Levi spoke up. “Eren. Do you resent me?” he asked.

Eren shook his head. “No. I have a habit of letting rage cloud my judgement. I understand it was necessary.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Besides, it didn’t really hurt that much anyway. Just putting that out there.”

Eren thought he saw Levi’s lips twitch upward the slightest bit, though he couldn’t be sure. 

“Still, I’m surprised it didn’t do more damage. He kicked you pretty hard,” Hange said. Eren pulled the ice pack away from his face and handed it back to her, causing her to blink. “Ah. It’s already healed.”

“Seems like you can use your Titan powers in your human form,” Levi commented. “Regeneration being one of them.”

Eren’s brow furrowed. “Was there another one?” he asked. 

“You mean you didn’t even notice?” Hange asked. “You almost broke the chains that were keeping you tethered to the pole. Oooh, I can’t wait to run some tests on that Titan strength of yours!”

“Oh, that...” Eren said. “Actually, I’ve always been that way.”

This drew their attention. Erwin observed him with an analytical gaze. “Elaborate,” he said. 

Eren flushed. “Well, I don’t tell many people about this, but since I’m going to be working under you guys, I think you should know. The truth is, I get stronger when I’m angry.”

He was expecting disbelief, or for them to tell him to stop joking around. But they could evidently tell he was being serious.

Levi scowled. “ _ How? _ ”

Eren shrugged. “Just do. Been that way for as long as I can remember.”

“And you’re sure it has nothing to do with your Titan abilities?” Erwin asked.

“Pretty sure,” Eren replied, before explaining the dreams and visions he’d been having about his father. 

“So whatever this is, it was your father’s doing,” Erwin concluded. “And he only gave you this injection after Wall Maria fell. Curious...do you have any ideas as far as what’s in that basement of yours?”

“Nothing concrete,” Eren admitted. “I have a feeling that it’s the key to learning the truth behind the Titans. But I just can’t figure out why he would have kept it a secret for so long.”

“It is certainly a mystery. Along with what really happened to him. If he was able to visit you and inject you with something after the wall fell, then he wasn’t killed when the Titans invaded.”

“I know. It’s been driving me crazy.”

“I’d imagine. But we’ll have plenty of time to think more on it. It’s been a long day for everyone. You should get some rest. We’ll arrange a time for you to meet with your friends tomorrow, and then we can discuss your future as a member of the Survey Corps.”

Eren nodded, feeling the exhaustion catch up with him at the mention of rest. “Yes, Sir.”

Suddenly, Erwin stuck his hand out. “I look forward to working with you, Eren.”

Eren shook it, exhilarated. “Me too, Commander.” 

After he was dismissed, Hange showed him to his room. He was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. The day  _ had _ been long.

* * *

Eren got the chance to see his friends the next day. Erwin had explained that Pixis’ report and Eren’s actions in Trost had gained the Survey Corps some breathing room in regards to how they handled him. Which meant that Eren’s request to stop and visit the cadet barracks before they began his individualized training was actually granted. 

He was grateful. He knew they’d be worried, and he was too. He didn’t even know who had survived the operation to retake Trost, other than the ones he’d laid eyes on personally after the battle.

It was still morning when they arrived, and Eren dismounted his horse with anticipation. His friends probably wouldn’t be expecting him until they chose their regiments in a week’s time. Eren grinned eagerly. That meant he could surprise them. 

“Thanks Captain Levi, Hange!” he shouted.

The two waved him off, and he turned and started sprinting. 

He made his way to the mess hall with ease of practice, knowing they’d be having breakfast right about now. He opened the door, and his eyes scanned the room. He spotted Mikasa and Armin at a table with Sasha, Connie, Mina, and Thomas. Their backs were turned toward him, and he walked forward silently. 

Mina, who was facing the door, was the first to catch sight of him. Surprise overtook her face, before it settled on mischief. 

“Say,” she said. “How do you guys think Eren is holding up?”

The mood immediately sobered. Mikasa and Armin both stared down at the table. Thomas shot her a confused look, wondering why she’d bring him up with how worried the two had been. Then he, too, caught sight of Eren, and struggled to keep his expressions straight as he realized what Mina was doing. 

“I’m sure he’s ok,” Armin said, hoping to reassure Mikasa. “The Survey Corps seemed like they had his best interests at heart.”  _ Even if they want to use him for his power,  _ was what he didn’t say. 

“You’re probably right,” Mikasa said, though she sounded subdued. “He’s finally going to be living his dream. I just hope he’ll stay safe until we see him again.”

“I’m sure he’d be happy to know you’re thinking about him as much as he is about you.”

“I hope you’re right, Armin…” she mumbled. 

“...Wait, what?” Armin said. He had not been the one to speak. As one, he and Mikasa both swivelled around in their seats, finally spotting him. 

“Eren!” they both shouted, surging to their feet. 

Eren laughed as they both tackled him, and wrapped their arms around them in a group hug. “Hey, you guys. It’s good to see you,” he said softly. 

“The Survey Corps let you visit?” Armin asked.

“Yeah. Seems like I’ve built up some good karma.”

The others soon crowded around him as well, bombarding him with questions, and soon they were all sitting down, talking and laughing like everything was normal. Soon enough though, he realized there were some people missing. 

“Hey, where are Jean and Marco?” he asked.

He was met by silence. 

Looking around, he noticed the subdued looks on everyone’s faces, and instantly grew worried.

“Eren,” Armin spoke up. “The truth is, Marco...he didn’t survive the operation to retake Trost.”

Eren’s mouth fell open.  _ Oh.  _ His fists clenched over the table. “How did he…?”

“He was half eaten when we found him,” Connie mumbled. “We don’t even know which Titan did it. We didn’t see anything.” Off to the side, Reiner clenched his teeth. Bertolt and Annie stared down at the table, looking shaken. 

“I see,” Eren said. “How’s Jean holding up?”

“Well, it obviously hit him the worst,” Thomas said. “He’s been so distant since yesterday. Like he’s not completely here.”

Eren closed his eyes in frustration. He wanted desperately to seek Jean out, but what would he even say? Marco had died for _Eren’s_ _mission_. 

“Did...did we lose anyone else?” he asked. 

“...Hannah and Franz both died before all the squads met up,” Armin admitted reluctantly.

“Oh.” His voice sounded detached, though they knew he was anything but.

Mikasa reached out and placed her hand over his own. “You can’t save everyone,” she whispered.

Eren sighed. “I know.”  _ But I still feel like I should. _

* * *

Soon enough, Eren bid his friends goodbye, and Mikasa and Armin followed him outside to see him off. As he assured Mikasa that he would only be doing training with the Survey Corps until they next saw each other, Armin stepped forward.

“Eren. Do you remember when you told me that you suspected the Colossal Titan to be intelligent?”

Caught off guard, Eren nodded. It had been right before their squad departed during the Battle of Trost. “It destroyed the cannons. It acted with purpose,” he confirmed. 

Armin nodded. “I was thinking back to when Wall Maria fell. The Armored Titan...it specifically targeted the gate so that humanity would lose its territory.”

Eren’s eyes widened.  _ That’s right...back then, it didn’t even eat anyone. It acted strategically, as if it had a goal.  _ “Just like the Colossal,” he muttered.

“Exactly,” Armin said. “When you told me that before Trost, I just assumed they were a new breed of Abnormals with intelligence. But Eren...you can turn into a Titan.”

Eren’s mouth parted as he caught onto what Armin was implying. Mikasa too, stared at their friend with wide eyes.

“Who’s to say others can’t too?” Armin finished. 

Eren’s mouth opened and closed several times. “You think...the Armored and Colossal Titans are...human?”

“I think it’s a legitimate possibility. Of course, it’s just a theory. We don’t have any proof. But it’s something we should be prepared for.”

“Humans trying to aid the Titans?” Eren muttered through gritted teeth. Although the idea had merit based off of what they knew, he had trouble accepting it. Why would two humans want to cause the extinction of their own kind? What would their motivation be?

Nevertheless, he nodded. “Thanks for telling us, Armin,” he said. “And actually...I have something to tell you guys too. It’s something I haven’t told the Survey Corps yet, since I’m still trying to come to terms with it myself.”

This caught both their interest, and they listened intently. 

“Armin, do you remember my first kill back in Trost?”

“You mean when you saved Thomas? Yeah, I remember,” Armin replied, thinking back. “It was pretty amazing actually. By the time the rest of us realized the threat that Titan posed, you were already moving to kill it.”

Mikasa’s brow furrowed. “Come to think of it, when we teamed up, I noticed a few instances like that as well,” she said. “It was like you could react instantly.”

“See, that’s the thing. I think I awakened some kind of power other than Rage Boost. And I don’t think it has anything to do with my Titan powers either.”

They both looked baffled. “Could you describe it?” Armin asked.

“It was like time slowed down from my perspective. I couldn’t move any faster, but I could see and hear everything happening far more clearly. And it seemed to only happen when there was a danger coming that I couldn’t handle.”

“And did the danger have to be in your line of sight?”

“...Come to think of it, no,” Eren replied. “But I think I had to be aware of it on some level.”

“So in short, you have an ability that gives you near instantaneous reaction speed, and it activates in the face of danger, which you only need to be remotely aware of,” Armin summarized. “...Eren, you’re overpowered!” he said cheerfully.

Eren’s mouth parted. “ _ That’s _ all you have to say!?” 

“Do you think it’s linked to Rage Boost in any way?” Mikasa asked.

Eren pondered that. “It...doesn’t feel like it? I mean, Rage Boost enhances my body, but sometimes I lose myself to the rush and stop thinking clearly if I’m not careful. This almost seems like the opposite. It clears my mind, makes me feel more in control,” he replied. “...Almost like I know exactly what I need to do.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Mikasa stilled. She stared at him open mouthed, which he soon took note of. 

“Mikasa? What is it?” he asked. Armin turned toward her, and blinked upon seeing the look on her face. She ignored him, continuing to stare dumbfounded at Eren, almost as if she was in awe. 

“What’s with you!?” Eren snapped, sufficiently bewildered. 

Mikasa broke out of her stupor. “It’s—it’s nothing,” she said quickly. 

He continued to stare at her quizzically, but soon shrugged off her strange behavior. 

“Seriously though, Eren...I find it too coincidental that you have  _ three _ powers that aren’t related in any way. I think it‘s more likely that this new ability is linked to either Rage Boost or your Titan powers,” Armin reasoned. 

Eren hummed. “You might be right. I noticed I could do this just hours before I turned into a Titan for the first time. Though I’ve only ever used it as a human. It’s really weird, but there’s no way I’m gonna complain. The better to kill Titans with, right?” 

Armin shook his head fondly. “Right.”

Having gained some clarity, Eren bid his friends goodbye.

* * *

“Took you long enough,” Levi said as Eren rejoined him and Hange. “You finally finished socializing?”

“Sorry, Captain,” Eren said, sounding just a bit cheerful despite himself.

“Lay off him, Levi,” Hange said. “He finally got to see his friends after that clusterfuck in Trost. It was their first battle, so I’m sure it was a relief to see each other safe.”

Levi silently conceded the point with a barely perceptible nod as they all mounted their horses.

“But more importantly!” Hange continued, her cheeks turning red with glee. “It’s time to experiment with your Titan powers, Eren! The moment we get back to HQ, I’m going to witness everything that big beautiful body of yours can do firsthand!” There was a crazed gleam in her eye, and she was drooling.

“Captain Hange...that sounded really creepy,” Eren said, sweating a bit. 

“It’s ok! I’ll be gentle, I promise!”

“Not yet, Hange,” Levi said. “First I want to test his combat skills in human form. I’m curious how well he can hold up with that Rage Boost of his.”

“Wha? But I want him to be my test subject!” Hange whined. 

_ So blunt… _

“It’s important to start from the basics,” Levi argued, before turning to Eren. “I want you to show me everything you can do without your Titan powers once we get back. To that end, we’re going to spar.”

Eren smiled widely. Sparring with humanity’s strongest soldier? This was going to be awesome!

* * *

_ This is so not awesome.  _

Eren was covered in bruises from head to toe. He didn’t realize that Levi’s definition of sparring was  _ beating the shit out of someone until they learned.  _ One would think that Eren’s newfound healing factor would make the experience more bearable, but it only served to convince Levi that he needn’t hold back. 

Groaning, he pulled himself up from the ground, feeling his entire body ache with the effort. 

“Your hand to hand combat skills are pretty damn good for a recent graduate,” Levi complimented. “But you seem to have a bad habit of falling back on that rage of yours and rushing into things.”

“I know. I’m working on it,” Eren muttered, wincing as his bruises continued to steam and heal. 

“Have a sense of urgency about it,” Levi said. “Your Rage Boost may make you stronger and faster than nearly any opponent, but if you’re fighting someone with more skill and experience than you who can also keep up with your speed? You’re going to have a problem.”

“Point taken,” Eren said. Because really, that description fit Levi perfectly.

There weren’t many people who could keep up with him from a purely physical standpoint once his Rage Boost kicked in. There were exceptions of course, like Mikasa, but even she lagged behind once he got  _ truly _ enraged. 

During the past few years, Eren had trained himself to channel his inner rage at a moment’s notice. Even if he wasn’t angry at a particular moment, all it took was remembering the events of Shiganshina. It wasn’t exactly difficult to give himself that boost if he needed it. 

It was part of the reason he had graduated second behind Mikasa. 

And that was what made Levi all the more terrifying in his eyes. He’d been fighting with Rage Boost on  _ constantly  _ for the past half hour. If it was anyone else he was fighting, he would have done a hell of a lot of damage by now. 

But Levi was stronger and faster than Mikasa, and more skilled than Annie. And Eren had yet to land a  _ single hit _ . 

“I guess that’s enough for today,” Levi said. “I have a pretty solid idea of where you’re at.”

“Wait, Captain. I want to try one more thing,” Eren said.

Levi raised an eyebrow. “Suit yourself.”

Eren raised his fists in front of his face, while Levi kept his own at his sides as the two circled each other. Eren summoned his rage, glaring at Levi with determination. 

“There’s that look in your eyes. Show me what you’ve got, Eren.”

Eren charged forward, his eyes taking in Levi’s every move.  _ He won’t move until the last moment. He does it to make himself less predictable. Just think of him as a threat...and that one moment… _

Levi’s muscles tensed, and time slowed down.

_...Is all I’ll need! _

_   
_ Levi’s fist shot towards him, aiming for his throat. But seeing it in slow motion, Eren was able to swerve around the hit, before grabbing his arm with one hand and his shoulder with another. 

Levi’s eyes slowly widened in surprise as Eren brought his leg forward, intent on sweeping his leg and completing one of the moves he’d learned from Annie. 

He was shocked when Levi leapt into the air, Eren’s leg passing harmlessly beneath him as he twisted his body around. Eren wasted no time and aimed another punch at his face while he was airborne. At the same time, Levi’s own fist shot towards Eren's jaw. 

_ I’ll trade you then,  _ Eren thought savagely.  _ A hit for a hit! _

Both blows connected. 

Eren was knocked off his feet, while Levi was sent spinning through the air. Both landed hard on the ground and rolled. 

Eren groaned in pain as he stared at the sky, his jaw aching terribly. He grunted, pushing himself up. Levi was already on his feet again. 

“That was different and unexpected,” Levi said, touching his cheekbone. The hand came away bloody. “What did you  _ do _ , brat?”

“It’s something I learned I could do back in Trost,” Eren said, massaging his steaming jaw. “Whenever I’m aware of danger, I can see things happen in slow motion. Armin thinks it’s related to either my Titan powers or my Rage Boost.”

Levi’s eye was twitching. “Is there anything  _ else _ in your bag of tricks that you have yet to tell us about?” 

“I think that’s it. I’ll keep you updated, though.”

“I don’t suppose you have an asinine name for this one too?”

Eren blinked. “I haven’t really thought about it,” he admitted. “But all things considered, I think I'll go with…” he thought back to the way he felt when he first used it. “...Hunter’s Eye.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Asinine,” he muttered under his breath. Then, he smirked. “Well, either way, it looked like we have something new to test now.”

Eren shivered.

* * *

An hour later, Eren collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. Even with Rage Boost and Hunter’s Eye working for him, Eren still took worse than he gave. His only consolation was that his own injuries were already healing, whereas Levi was wiping his bloody face with a handkerchief, looking disgusted. 

“Tch. I’m gonna need a shower after this,” he complained, before looking back to Eren. “Brat, what did you notice about that ability in the past hour?”

Eren heaved in a breath. “It...has a time limit,” he said, sitting up. 

“About thirty seconds to be exact,” Levi confirmed. “I’m fairly sure it also has an interval in between activations where you can’t use it. Around thirty seconds, just like the time limit.”

“You...figured all that out while fighting me?” Eren asked, amazed. That was definitely some useful information.

“We’ve been fighting for a while. Wasn’t hard,” Levi said. “Take a break to regain your energy, and then go meet up with Hange before she gets impatient and kidnaps you.”

Eren groaned. “You got it, Captain.”

* * *

Hange’s experiments were thorough. She tested his limits of both his strength and speed in Titan form, with and without Rage Boost, and once he told her about Hunter’s Eye, tested whether he could use it in Titan form. 

Amazingly enough, he could, and they spent the rest of the afternoon practicing until he was comfortable combining both skills in his Titan body. The result was a formidable combination, and Eren had to hold himself in check so as to not get overconfident. He felt ready to take on any Titan the world could throw at him. 

After that, Hange decided to test random aspects of his Titan form, such as whether he could speak. He sort of could, but it was really slow and sounded nearly unintelligible whenever he tried. It was also just plain uncomfortable. It seemed like his throat and mouth just weren’t meant for speech in that form. 

Thankfully, Hange didn’t try to test the limits of his regeneration. He’d actually been worried about that, and was grateful to know that the scientist drew the line at inflicting pain for the sake of her curiosity. 

She didn’t extend that courtesy to normal Titans though. Which was stranger than it sounded, because for all the time she spent torturing the 3 and 4 meter Titans she had captured, she actually seemed to care for them quite a bit. She even named them Sonny and Bean, a revelation which disturbed Eren to no end. 

  
  


Eren sighed as he stuffed himself. It had been a hard day, and dinner was a welcome reprieve to all the work he’d been doing. Sparring with Levi, cooperating with Hange’s experiments, and then cleaning the entire Survey Corps HQ had taken a lot out of him. 

Currently, he was eating with Levi’s squad. He found that he enjoyed their company, even if Oluo loved to talk down to him. 

Though with 48 Titan kills, he may have earned that right. 

“Hey, Eren. Don’t get cocky just because you sparred with Captain Levi today. I’ll have you know he beats the shit out of us too, all the time!” the man boasted.

“Oh. That’s...good to know?” Eren replied. 

“Oluo…” Petra muttered. “You talking down to the newbie might have been slightly more bearable, had you ever landed a hit on the Captain,  _ even once _ . As it stands, it’s kind of pathetic that you keep trying to imitate him.”

Petra Rial. 58 kills. She was surprisingly humble for someone with that kind of record under her belt. 

“Dammit, Petra! You’re letting him get a big head!” Oluo shouted through a mouthful of food. “We have to teach the new guy that he’s not such hot shi—” he was cut off as blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he started swearing in pain. 

“Um, is he ok?” Eren asked, uncertain.

“Don’t mind him. He does that a lot,” the man sitting across from Eren said, rolling his eyes. Eld Jinn. 46 kills. 

“Given that you have that stupid habit of biting your tongue, you should know better than to talk with your mouth full,” the last member of the squad spoke up. Gunther Schultz. 47 kills. Together with Levi, they made up the Special Operations Squad, known far and wide as the heavy hitters of the Survey Corps. Eren felt blessed to be joining such a squad right off the bat.

It probably said a lot about him that he had immediately memorized their kill counts.

“Dammit Gunther! My kill count is higher than yours!” Oluo retorted, as blood dripped down his chin. Apparently Eren wasn’t the only one. 

“Are you sure that doesn’t need to be looked at?” Eren asked. “It’s kind of gushing blood. I doubt it’ll heal very fast on its own.”

Oluo looked murderous. “What, now you’re looking down on me because I can’t regenerate like a Titan!? Like I said, don’t get cocky, newbie! What’s your kill count!?”

“Oh...it was 12, if you only count the ones I got with the 3DMG,” Eren recalled. “Nothing special.”

Oluo stared at him. 

Petra stared at him.

Eld and Gunther stared at him.

“ _ What!? _ ” all four of them shouted at the same time. 

Eren blinked. “What?” he repeated.

“You have 12 kills?” Eld asked incredulously. “Wasn’t Trost your first battle?”

“Well yeah. I’d just graduated before that.”

They continued to stare at him, making him uncomfortable. “Like I said, it’s nothing special. Mikasa got at least 15.”

Oluo sputtered in outrage. 

“What is it?” Eren asked, not seeing the big deal. “It’s still nothing compared to you guys.”

“Eren, we’ve been part of the Survey Corps for years now,” Petra said, exasperated. “Our kill counts are the result of months of practice and a long history of expeditions. 15 kills on your first mission is  _ insane _ . So is 12, for that matter.”

“Huh, I didn’t think of it like that,” Eren said. “Wait, if that’s the case, then…” The realization struck him. “I’m pretty awesome, aren’t I!?” 

Oluo slumped in defeat. “Great…” he muttered. “Just great.”

“Wait, so out of curiosity,” Eren said. “How many Titans has Captain Levi killed?”

Eld snorted. “He doesn’t know. No one does,” he revealed. “The number is so high that everyone lost count.”

“...What was it when they lost count?” 

“Somewhere in the 200s. But that was a few years ago.”

_ Holy Mother of Maria, that’s insane! _

“He never really counted to begin with,” Oluo said. “To him, the kills probably just blend together. That’s the kind of guy Captain Levi is.”

“Come to think of it, the reports said you got 20 more kills in our Titan form, Eren,” Petra said. 

Oluo sputtered again. “Those don’t count, Petra!” 

“Why not? A kill is a kill,” she said. “With your skills and your Titan form, you’ll probably lose track too, soon enough.” 

Eren stared down at the table as he considered that. As Oluo argued that only 3DMG kills should count, Petra rolling her eyes at him, he spoke up.

“Captain Levi can do what he wants,” he said, causing their eyes to turn to him. “But I...won’t forget any of my kills. Each one is another step towards my goal. Each one serves to remind me why I’m fighting. To take everything back from them.”

The rest of the squad stared at him silently for a long moment. Then Eld snorted. “Look at that, Oluo. Even when he’s actively trying _ not _ to be like Captain Levi, the kid still ends up sounding cooler than you.”

“Dammit, Eld!”

* * *

The next morning brought quite the shock. Eren awoke fully expecting another round of experiments with Hange. But the woman was preoccupied with the death of Sonny and Bean. Apparently, someone had sliced both their napes in the dead of night, leaving their resident scientist inconsolable. 

As Hange swore vengeance on those responsible, Levi told her the Military Police would handle the investigation. Erwin pulled Eren aside as the two argued. 

  
“Eren, this may seem out of the blue, but who do you think is humanity’s true enemy?” the commander asked, causing Eren to still. This incident could have easily just been someone acting out of ignorance and hatred for the Titans. But then...it could easily be something far worse.

Eren swallowed. “My friend Armin has a theory,” he said, deciding to lay his cards on the table. “That the Colossal and Armored Titans are human. That they’re...like me,” he finished. 

“I see. To be honest, I’ve been thinking something similar,” Erwin admitted. “Five years ago is when they first appeared, and immediately after that, you gained your powers, seemingly from something your father did. In other words, his response to two intelligent Titans appearing was to give you the power to turn into an intelligent Titan yourself. It’s too coincidental. It must be connected.”

“I think you’re right,” Eren said quietly. “Even if I  _ really _ didn’t want to admit it until now. I know humans can do some disgusting things, but the thought of people like me aiding the Titans…”

“They’re motives are still unclear as of now. But we can’t afford to let our guards down. For all we know…” he trailed off. 

Eren’s brow furrowed. “For all we know…?” 

“No. Never mind,” Erwin said, shaking his head. “I believe it will become clear with time.”

Eren nodded slowly, recognizing the dismissal for what it was. He walked off, mind abuzz.

* * *

Despite the investigation into the deaths of Sonny and Bean, the culprit had not been found. Nearly a week later, the graduates were lined up at HQ. Erwin stood in front of them all. 

“I am Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps,” he introduced. “Today you will all choose a military branch. To put it bluntly, I’m here to convince you to join our regiment. During the recent Titan invasion, you all learned how terrifying they can be. As well as how powerless we can be. However, the Battle of Trost brought humanity one step closer to victory. That was due to the discovery of Eren Yeager’s powers.”

Whispers broke out amongst the graduates as their classmate stepped forward to stand beside Erwin. 

“With his help, not only did we manage to halt the advance of the Titans, but we now have a way to divine their true nature. We believe that in the basement of his home in Shiganshina lies the answer to the existence of the Titans. If we can reach that basement, we can put an end to their century long reign. 

The whispers intensified. Amongst the crowd, Reiner and Bertolt shared a look, while Armin’s brow furrowed. 

_ Why is he divulging so much? Does he have a hidden motive?  _ The blonde couldn’t wrap his head around it. 

“That will require us to retake Wall Maria,” Erwin continued. “In other words, our current objective hasn’t changed. In the past few years of expeditions, 60% of the Survey Corps’ members have lost their lives. That’s an insane figure. To those who decide to join the Survey Corps today, know that the majority of you will likely perish in a few years or less. But those who do not will have become seasoned veterans.”

Eren’s eyes fell to the ground as fearful murmurs swept through the graduates. 

“Knowing these disturbing figures, should you still be willing to risk your life, remain here,” Erwin said. “Are you willing to offer your hearts for humanity?” 

His question was met with silence.

“That is all I have to say. Those that wish to join another branch, you are dismissed.”

As one, the crowd began dispersing, the majority of the graduates deciding to join the Garrison. Even Annie left, having decided to join the Military Police, as was her right as a member of the top 10. 

_ Sorry, Eren,  _ Thomas thought as he walked off.  _ I thought I’d resolved myself. But after seeing what I did in Trost, I just don’t think I have what it takes. _

By the end, only nine graduates remained. Eren stared in awe, having not expected so many. Some looked terrified, others, determined. Some were a mix of both. 

“To those still remaining, you have overcome your fear, and have my utmost respect,” Erwin said. “I welcome you to the Survey Corps!” He saluted, and each one of them returned the gesture. 

Mikasa Ackerman. 

Armin Arlert.

Sasha Blouse.

Connie Springer.

Reiner Braun.

Bertolt Hoover. 

Krista Lenz. 

Ymir. 

And Jean Kirschtein.

* * *

“This is the worst,” Jean muttered as all of the new recruits were dismissed, including Eren. “To think I really went and joined the Survey Corps. This is all your fault, Eren!”

“The fuck did I do!?” 

“It doesn’t matter! Everything is your fault!” 

“Don’t get cocky now that you grew a pair, Jean! How many Titans have you killed, anyway!?” 

“How is that relevant!? If you must know, I’ve killed 4!” 

“4? Man, I have triple that! What were you doing the whole time?”

“Not almost dying, that’s what! And only you would measure dicks in such an offhand way, Yeager!”

As the two bickered back and forth, Eren relaxed. He was glad that Jean seemed to have come out of his shell again. If he could help stave away his depression with some familiar banter, he’d gladly do so. 

Jean had been dead set on the Military Police, but upon witnessing the horrors of the Titans firsthand, had decided to join the Survey Corps. That was an attitude Eren found worthy of respect.

Not that he’d ever admit it. 

“Eren…” Jean said suddenly. “You...heard about Marco, didn’t you?”

As one, the other new recruits stiffened. Eren closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah,” he replied, as the others shot them looks of uncertainty, wondering where this would go.

“Then you probably understand already. Marco died for the sake of humanity’s hope,” Jean said.

_ For your sake,  _ he didn’t say. 

“Yeah, he did,” Eren agreed, clenching his fists. 

Jean walked toward him, and Eren expected a fist to the face. But instead, Jean placed both hands on Eren’s shoulders, shocking him. 

“After Trost, every single one of us knows the terror that the Titans pose,” Jean said. “We all know that we could die any time now. But I’ve decided to place my hopes in you.”

Eren’s eyes widened. 

“And I think, to an extent, everyone else here has too,” Jean concluded. “Eren...I guess what I’m trying to say, is that we’re all relying on you.”

Eren’s breath hitched, but he kept his gaze on Jean’s, staring in determination. “Right. I won’t let you down,” he said. 

Jean took a step back. “Good. You may be a suicidal bastard, but at least I can say you never half-ass things. So, I’ll be holding you to that.” His piece said, Jean continued walking.

And as one, the ten members of the Survey Corps moved forward towards an uncertain future. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. Chapter 8

“Establish a formation! Hold it at all costs!” Affirmatives were shouted as the order was given, multiple scout teams riding out on horseback to form a perimeter.

Among them were ten graduates from the 104th Training Corps. 

Eren’s mind was in a frenzy. While not his first battle, this was his first expedition into Titan territory. He tried his best to calm himself down a bit. Being alert would keep them alive, but being too tense could get him and others killed. It would not do to be a bundle of nerves.

Still, this whole situation had him high-strung. Officially, this was strictly surveyal, and they were to avoid combat unless absolutely necessary. But the fact that Erwin hadn’t actually given them a tangible goal to work towards was putting him on edge. 

He watched the scouts as they did what they did best, and all seemed like it was going well. The normal class Titans were easily avoided, their predictable behavior making it easy to ward them off to a well trained squad. Even the few abnormals they had run into had been engaged swiftly and efficiently by multiple veterans at once.

Ever since the revelation that the Armored and Colossal Titans were most likely human, he had been apprehensive about this expedition. Moreso than he’d normally be about riding into Titan infested lands, anyway.

_The Commander_ _was forthcoming about our long term goal when he briefed us. We’re to make it to Shiganshina and take back Wall Maria. But realistically, we’re not ready for a mission like that yet. It’ll take multiple expeditions of setting up bases beyond the walls, and I need to learn more about my powers in the meantime._

He’d feel a lot better if he knew what he was supposed to _do_. For someone who was supposedly humanity’s secret weapon, he had not been told much about his role. Perhaps that was simply because this expedition was too standard to require him to transform. And yet, Eren had trouble believing that. 

_Most of the Survey Corps doesn’t know about our suspicions. If intelligent Titans really do show up and attack, no one will be prepared for it._

It was unlikely that the Armored and Colossal would make an appearance. They had waited five years in between their last two attacks, and that had been to break the walls. There wasn’t anything about this expedition in particular that would draw them out, right?

_Except…_

Except there was. There was _Eren_. His powers were common knowledge in the walls by now. If, the Armored and Colossal really were humans within the walls, then…

_Is Erwin...trying to draw them out?_

His eyes roamed over the rest of Squad Levi. They made no indication that they were aware of it, if that was the case. 

_Mikasa, Armin...stay safe._

* * *

  
  


When the first sign came that everything had gone to shit, it was not subtle. A panicking soldier reported that the left flank had been devastated, and that their formation was now blind to any Titans coming from that direction. Eren’s eyes widened.

_The left flank...that’s where Armin is!_

It wasn’t long before he saw a black flare shoot up into the sky, coming from the left flank. 

_An Abnormal...but could one of them have done that much damage?_

But another black flare shot up into the sky directly next to it. Followed by another. Then another. 

Eren’s nerves grew by the second as the flares shot up one by one. Whoever that was was was shooting them off rapid fire.

“How many are there?” Petra whispered. “They must be using every black flare they have…” 

_Could it be Armin? He should know that many flares will only cause confusion._ Still, Eren prayed that it was him. That would mean he was at the very least still alive. 

Then a thought occurred to him.

“Captain Levi,” he spoke up, voice shuttering. 

Levi turned towards him.

“Have you ever seen that many Abnormals gathered in the same place? Do they even _do_ that?” 

Levi gave him a considering look. “Abnormal behavior is unpredictable. Short of eating people, it’s not easy to predict what they’ll do. But to answer your question, no. Abnormals are rare, and we’re evenly spread out, so that many congregating on one flank is unlikely.”

Eren’s mind worked a mile a minute as he tried to dissect what that could mean. What message were they being given? If it really was Armin...well, he knew his friend well. 

“We...don’t have a flare for intelligent Titans,” Eren said, and Levi’s face remained blank as he waited for Eren’s mind to work through it all. 

“No, we don’t,” Levi replied. 

Eren’s heart was beating a mile a minute. Levi knew. He’d _expected_ this. And that meant Erwin had too. And neither of them had said a thing. 

“There’s someone like me in our formation. And _no one knows_?” Eren hissed. 

“Arlert does,” Levi said simply. 

Eren glared at Levi, his breath coming in ragged as the rest of the squad looked uncertainly between the two. “If you expected this to happen, why... _why_ would we keep everyone in the dark about it?”

“Commander Erwin didn’t tell me,” Levi said. “But I’m guessing he suspects there’s a traitor among us. If we were too vocal about that information, it would get out to them that we knew.”

“And how many people will die now for that advantage?”

“That’s the burden of leadership,” Levi said softly. “Did you think we could afford to not make sacrifices? Commander Erwin is no saint. In fact, I’d sooner say he’s a demon in human skin. But he’s the reason we’ve gotten this far.”

Before Eren should scream bloody murder at him, Levi cut him off. “If it’s any consolation, Arlert should still be alive. The fact he knows there’s an intelligent Titan means that he’s already interacted with it. If he’s in a good enough position to fire off those flares nonstop, that likely means he already survived the encounter.”

That put Eren’s heart at ease, but it didn’t change the fact that a large number of scouts were going to die, and that some were already dead. 

“It can’t be the Armored or Colossal,” he muttered. “We’d have seen it if it was 60 meters tall…”

“And even the Armored would have been easily recognized from five years ago,” Levi finished. “Which means there’s a third, other than you.”

Eren clenched his teeth. 

If this Titan really was like him, it could probably mow through squads like they were made of paper. It would take a group on the level of Squad Levi to take it down. So why were they still pushing deeper into the forest?

“Why are we running from it?” Eren asked. “Realistically, there’s no one else that can take it down. I might not be as experienced with my Titan powers, but at the very least I could keep it occupied long enough for you guys to go for the nape. It’d be a lot better than letting it run wild and kill out comrades!”

“You don’t think we know that?” Levi asked. “Regardless of our personal feelings, our orders are to retreat further into the forest.”

“We’d just be delaying the inevitable!” Eren argued. “Assuming it has similar capability to the Armored and myself, we can’t outrun it on horseback!”

He didn’t receive an answer. The rest of Squad Levi stared straight ahead as they rode. But Eren could see that despite their resolve, they were just as nervous as he was. 

A chilling thought occurred to him. _They don’t know what the plan is. They’re following Erwin’s orders without actually knowing the reason behind them. Is that what being a scout means? Having the resolve to make these kinds of sacrifices, all for the sake of a larger picture that we may not live to see?_

He felt both humbled and horrified by the realization. 

_I...don’t know if I could do that. Risking my life is one thing, but could I really just watch my friends die if I was ordered to?_

Soon, they began to hear shouts behind them, along with heavy, rumbling footsteps. 

_It’s here_ , Eren realized as he turned around, spotting the towering figure in the distance. It looked to be around 14 meters, and it was seemingly just as muscular as his own Titan form. 

_It looks feminine...there must be a woman inside. But who could it be?_

He watched as the Female Titan crushed the Survey Corps members surrounding it with an ease and willingness that made his blood boil. It wasn’t exactly making it painless either. Whoever was in there was a psychopath. 

“They’re dying,” Eren whispered as he witnessed another scout get crushed against a tree. “And we’re letting it happen.”

“Face forward, Eren,” Levi said, even as his eyes burned with an incomprehensible rage. 

“I can’t just abandon them out of blind faith that this will all work out!” Eren snapped. The other squad members tensed as he brought his hand to his mouth, ready to rip into the skin, ready to let his fury act as his focus and charge that monster with furious intent. 

“Eren!” Petra snapped. “We all feel the same as you, but you can’t just act on your own! Trust us!”

Eren warred with himself. He had pledged his soul to humanity, and now his orders were conflicting with what he knew in his heart was right. How could letting other humans die to save his own skin be dedicating his heart to humanity?

But at the same time...he wanted to believe in the Survey Corps. He had idolized them since he was a child, and they had taken him in, granted him purpose. 

_If this was Armin’s plan, would I follow it?_ he asked himself. He didn’t like the answer. Is that why Levi wouldn’t even look back? Was his faith in Erwin just as unshakeable? 

“It’s your call, Eren,” Levi said, snapping him out of his thoughts. “I’m choosing where to place my faith. You must do the same. Will you trust yourself? Or will you trust us? I don’t know which is right. I can make the call, but no one knows the outcome. You can only make the choice you think you’ll least regret. Choose.”

He took one last look at the Female Titan. She had slaughtered all but one of the scouts behind them. If he acted, he could probably still save that man’s life.

He bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood.

_I’m sorry._

He made his decision.

* * *

The Female Titan watched dispassionately as the last of her opposition was reduced to a bloody paste on the forest floor. While she felt no pleasure from crushing these scouts, she felt no guilt either. She had a mission, and she would carry it out. That was the only path available for her in this forsaken world. 

50 meters. 45. 40.

She was gaining on her objective. She knew the Titan shifter ahead was new to all this. Even if he transformed, he wouldn’t give her much trouble due to his inexperience. She was more worried about Captain Levi. If the stories about him were to be believed, she’d have to be cautious having him as an enemy. 

25 meters. 20. 15. 

She’d seen the other shifter staring at her with undisguised hatred, before turning back ahead. 

_So he’s chosen to follow Captain Levi’s lead,_ she mused. That would just make it easier for her. She could take him out of the picture before he even had a chance to transform. 

10 meters. 5. 

She was right upon them. 

A flash of gleaming metal caught her eye, and she looked up towards the trees. 

On instinct, she covered her nape with both hands. Dozens of barbed wires shot out from the trees, impaling her limbs and torso, and rendering her immobile. 

She shivered at the look on Captain Levi’s eyes as he turned back to stare at her.

_This could be a problem._

* * *

Eren stared with wide eyes at the Female Titan as she struggled in vain to break free from the cables. _So that was their plan. They want to take whoever’s inside alive._

The cost had been high, but he could now see the merit in Erwin’s decision. They could finally learn the true nature of their enemy, their motives and weaknesses. 

She certainly wasn’t making it easy though, even now. As Levi and Mike tried to cut her out of the nape, her hands took on a crystalline quality, and their blades shattered.

_She can harden parts of her body so that they’re invulnerable, like the Armored Titan,_ Eren realized. _Is that an ability I can use too? And how long can she keep it up?_

As Erwin prepared explosive charges to blow off her hands, Eld gained Eren’s attention. 

“Eren, our orders are to fall back!”

“What? But it’s not over! She’s still—”

“Commander Erwin and Captain Levi will find a way to get her out of there,” Eld said. “There’s nowhere for her to go. The plan worked out, didn’t it? Don’t start doubting us now.”

“Right...sorry,” Eren muttered.

Eld, Petra, Gunther, and Oluo took the lead, with Eren following behind. As they maneuvered through the air, he was deep in thought.

_I still don’t know if it was the right choice. But it’s true that you can’t argue with the results._

As they flew through the trees, Eren heard a shrill scream echo through the forest.

“Was that the Female Titan?” he asked with wide eyes.

“I guess her situation finally sank in,” Oluo snorted. 

_Something about this doesn’t feel right._

“Hey, where are all those Titans headed?” Gunther asked.

Eren turned to see where he was pointing, and saw a horde of Titans heading in the direction they just came from. 

“Are they ignoring us?” Petra asked quizzically.

“Strange behavior for normal class Titans,” Eld mused. “But even with that many, it’s nothing Captain Levi can’t handle. Keep moving forward.”

They flew in silence for the next few minutes, Eren feeling more nervous by the second. _Those Titans that ignored us...could they have been responding to that scream for some reason?_

On high alert as they exited the forest, Eren noticed a hooded figure shooting through the trees toward them.

“Who is that?” Petra asked.

“A scout? Why do they have their hood up?” Oluo wondered.

As the figure shot towards them, for the first time since he’d left the walls, time slowed to a crawl. He could clearly see the figure’s blades, gleaming and poised to strike as they aimed right for Gunther.

  
He was moving before he even realized it. 

His gas propelling him forward, Eren met the figure’s blades with his own, causing a metallic clang to echo through the forest as Eren’s raw strength repelled their attacker. The rest of the squad let out gasps behind him as they realized what had almost just happened. His eyes continued to track the figure as it fell back and weaved around the trees with grace. 

“Who is that!?” Gunther shouted, a bit shaken by his near death.

“It has to be the Female Titan! She must be in her human form!” Eren replied. 

“She actually escaped Captain Levi?” Petra asked in shock. 

“She must have exited her Titan form somehow,” Eld said with gritted teeth. “Those Titans from earlier...they were a diversion!”

Eren cursed as yellow lightning struck the figure midair, and the Female Titan reformed again before their eyes.

_All those deaths...meaningless. Captain Levi told me to make the choice I’d least regret, but in the end, I didn’t do that. I placed my faith in something bigger than myself...and this was the result._

Squad Levi leapt into the fray, yelling for Eren to retreat. Their teamwork was flawless as they coordinated their assault on the intelligent Titan. Working in tandem, they took out her eyes first, and began carving into her while she couldn’t see. Her hands were covering her nape again, but it hardly seemed to deter the four. They continued to slice through her limbs and legs. Eren realized their goal was to immobilize her while she was blind and didn’t know where to harden before they struck. Eventually, she would need to focus on regenerating. In that moment, she would leave her nape open to assault. 

_They might actually kill it_ , Eren thought in amazement. That is, until he noticed something off. 

_One of her eyes isn’t regenerating?_ Indeed, there was only steam coming out of one of her eyes. Why would one eye be healing and not the other?

His stomach plummeted as the answer struck him. 

“Stop!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “Get away from it!” Squad Levi, confused by the command, didn’t let up. They were too close to victory to stop now. 

_They’re going to die…_ he realized. _What the fuck is wrong with me!?_

He was done following orders. Done holding back. He’d trusted them up to this point. Now it was time to do things his way. 

He bit into his hand, letting his rage act as his focus, as his Titan formed in all its glory, deadly intent dripping from every pore.

_No one else is dying to protect me!_

He let out a roar and leapt forward, just as the Female Titan’s single eye finished healing, only to zero in on Squad Levi with deadly focus. Shocked that her eye had healed twice as fast as it should have, they didn’t have time to pull back as she raised her arm to swat at them like flies. 

Eren’s fist crashed into her face, making a satisfying crack.

* * *

The Female Titan let out a pained roar as the impact lifted her off her feet and she was sent crashing through a tree, toppling it. Her eyes narrowed at the new threat.

_So he finally grew a pair and transformed. Come get me then._

As her opponent roared again, muscles tensing, The Female Titan surveyed it with cold calculation. _This can only be the Attack Titan. The only shifter power whose whereabouts were completely lost. Seems similar to my own in ability...but the shifter is practically a novice. This won’t go your way, Eren._

Her opponent charged forward, and was upon her in a split second. _Fast,_ she thought as she blocked his first blow with her forearm. The rattling of bones in her arm surprised her. _And he has a lot more raw strength than me, I’ll give him that._

The next blow came, and this time, she hardened her arm and met the punch head on. The Attack Titan’s fist was reduced to a bloody stump as his arm recoiled from the impact. The Female Titan finished healing, and as her opponent roared in fury, she capitalized on the advantage, her hardened leg aiming to knock his head clean off. 

Her leg met empty air as the Attack Titan leaned his head back, her foot missing by mere inches. Her eyes widened as he caught her leg mid arc and lifted her entire body off the ground, before smashing her into headfirst. 

_Good reflexes...he was second for a reason I guess._ She hardened both her head and neck upon impact, and as he raised her up again, hardened her other leg. Her foot kicked at his wrist, and she heard a satisfying snap as his wrist was dislocated.

_That’s both of your hands useless. What will you do now, Eren?_

As she got to her feet though, she realized his bloody stump of a hand had already grown back. The shock allowed him the opportunity to rear his fist back and land a clean punch across her face. 

She stumbled back, reeling. That one had hurt more than she would like to admit. The bones in her face were already regenerating, but that wasn’t what she was focused on. 

_How did his hand heal that quickly? It was barely fifteen seconds!_

As she leapt back to gain some distance, the Attack Titan raised its other hand, and the Female Titan watched with a slight trace of fear as the broken wrist repaired itself in seconds. 

_His regeneration is much faster than mine. He’s faster and stronger, too. Is the Attack Titan really this powerful? Or is it possible I’ve actually run into the Founder, like we suspected?_

She pushed down her fear as her opponent rushed forward again, and she redirected his blows like a well oiled machine. 

_In a battle of attrition, I won’t win. I need an opening. If this is really the Founder in front of me, I can’t retreat._

A roundhouse kick from the Attack Titan connected with her hardened forearm, knocking her clean off her feet even as the bones in his foot cracked upon impact. She rolled across the unforgiving ground before she righted herself and got to her feet. 

The Attack Titan got ready to charge again, and the Female Titan let out a breath of steam. She raised both hands in front of her face, and as he leapt forward, fist reared back, she raised one leg into the air, her signature move a simple matter of deeply ingrained muscle memory. 

She could see the moment the realization hit him, watched as he faltered in his steps, staring at her with wide green eyes filled with familiarity and betrayal.

And crushing any shred of remorse, she kicked his head clean off. 

The Attack Titan collapsed, barely able to move as its motor functions were disrupted. She bent down, ready to rip his human form out of the nape. 

The whirring of cables met her ears, and she pulled her hands back to cover her own. 

Two blades severed her fingers from her hands, but didn’t penetrate deep enough to hit her nape. She hissed as the new arrival circled around and turned to face her, a dark, intimidating scowl on her face as her eyes exuded a frigid rage. 

_Ackerman._

Mikasa screamed in unrestrained fury as she sped towards the Female Titan, ready to strip every ounce of flesh from her bones. Her large fist barred down on the girl, ready to flatten every bone in her body, only for her arm to get torn to shreds as Mikasa’s blades moved faster than humanly possible. As the tendons in her arm were severed, the Female Titan guessed her next move and hardened her nape.

Only for Mikasa to gouge one of her eyes out instead. As she was half blinded again, she watched dispassionately as the girl retreated out of her reach and circled around again, realizing she was going to have to take their number one graduate a bit more seriously.

* * *

  
  


Deep inside his Titan form, Eren was reeling in shock. _That move...I’d recognize it anywhere._

He felt like he was burning up inside. The burn of betrayal set his body alight until he felt he might be reduced to ash.

_Why…_

Every death played out again in his mind, every scout she crushed underfoot, tossed aside like yesterday’s garbage, scraped off her hands like dirt. 

_Why did it have to be you!?_

From beyond his Titan, he heard a familiar scream of rage, and his entire world went up in flames. 

* * *

  
  


Annie caught Mikasa’s cable in one hand, and the girl gasped as her momentum was forcefully altered mid flight. As Annie got ready to smash her against the ground, she detached the cable from her gear, using the other one to slow her fall and land. 

_Good survival instincts,_ Annie thought coolly as she turned back towards her objective. _But you’ve lost your mobility. Now sit tight and watch while I—_

She froze as the Attack Titan suddenly surged to its feet, its entire 15 meters shrouded in a bright, consuming flame.

She watched in disbelief as his head regenerated before her eyes, his green eyes glaring at her fiercely as the rest of his injuries healed.

He roared his fury into the heavens, the flames disappearing, and she could see red veins spreading throughout his body, like glowing red embers beneath his skin. 

_What is this!?_ she thought, panicked. _No Titan can heal that fast!_

She didn’t have long to contemplate it though, as Eren barreled into her, knocking the breath out of her lungs despite the fact that she’d hardened in time. Eren reared his fist back again, and Annie hardened both arms, crossing them in front of her face. The blow connected, sending vibrations through her limbs, and she watched, disbelieving, as her hardening cracked under the force. His own fists crumpled from the impact, but once again, red flames enshrouded his hands, healing the injuries within seconds. 

Annie leapt back to create some distance as Eren’s leg cratered the ground where she’d been standing. He charged forward again, and her instinct driving her, she fell back on her signature move, hoping it would slow him down if she took his entire leg off. 

But he jumped over her kick, clearly expecting it this time, before grabbing her face and shoving her head through a tree behind her. She collapsed to the ground, her face a bloody mess. Eren didn’t let up, pouncing on top of her and gripping her face with one hand, before tearing it off, eyes and all. Annie screamed, the pain overwhelming. 

She hardened her leg again and kicked out blindly, hearing his nose crack from her rising foot. She felt as he was pushed off of her, and she got to her feet with haste.

_I can’t beat him. I miscalculated greatly. Fuck the Founder, I need to get out of here before he actually_ kills _me._

She ran, blind but oriented, in the direction away from where she knew Squad Levi to be, her hand covering her nape as she tried her best to accelerate the healing of her eyes. 

_Our fight took us a far distance from them, and Mikasa is down. If I can just get away from Eren!_

Her hopes were crushed as she felt a hand grab her head again, this time crashing her skull into the ground. She felt as the hand covering her nape was ripped away. Pinned and unable to see, she kept her nape hardened for as long as she could while Eren’s fists slammed against it, again, and again, his rage unrelenting. She felt the cracks in her hardening again, and panicking, reached behind her blindly, desperate to stop him _somehow_. 

But he just grabbed her arm and ripped it clean out of its socket.

The damage was just too much. She moaned in agony and defeat as her hardening slipped away, and as she felt herself get ripped out of the nape, she wept. 

* * *

Eren roared, victorious, as he held Annie’s trembling body in his hand.

_I’ll crush you,_ he thought viciously. _Like you did them._

He was ready to do it. A single tensing of his hand, and every bone in her body would crumple beneath his grip.

Then he caught sight of her face. 

Trembling like wounded prey, Annie Leonhardt wept freely at the life she had lost. 

And his mind flashed back to Shiganshina, to humans running like helpless fawns as they were chased down and devoured. For a brief moment, his world seemed to flip on its axis, because in that brief, irrational moment, _he_ was that ruthless predator. 

And Eren hesitated. 

That moment was all it took. A crystalline structure shot out from Annie’s small form in one last desperate, instinctual act of self preservation. Eren roared as a crystal shell formed around her, fusing with his fist and rendering his hand immobile. As his body began to fuse with the crystal hardening, he thought fast and ripped his own arm off, watching as it evaporated, leaving only Annie’s unreachable form within the crystal. 

Eren stared blankly at it for a while, not registering as Mikasa ran towards him, shouting up at him in worry. He barely even noticed as Squad Levi arrived on the scene, staring in disbelief, followed soon after by Commander Erwin and Captain Levi.

Feeling empty and hollow, he emerged from the nape of his Titan, dead to the world as Captain Levi caught him and brought him to the ground. He absently noticed that Annie was loaded onto a cart, and as he was helped into one himself, the day’s events flashing through his mind. The retrospect slowly breaking him. As they rode back to Wall Rose, he collapsed from exhaustion, succumbing to the welcoming darkness. 

* * *

Eren awoke groggily, and sat up in his bed. He took in his surroundings, first looking out the window and realizing they were back inside Wall Rose. The next thing that caught his notice was Mikasa. She was asleep in a chair a few feet from his bed. Her scarf had fallen out of her hands and now rested on the floor as she slept. 

He slowly got out of bed, feeling no lingering soreness from the fight. He must have healed fully in his sleep. He walked up to Mikasa, picking her scarf off the floor and staring at it wistfully. To him, it had always been a reminder of his shortcomings, her parents killed before her eyes while he dragged his legs on the way to the Ackerman home. To him, it had been but a cheap consolation, the best he could give, an unspoken statement of _hey, your parents may have been murdered, and I may have talked you into killing someone at the age of nine. But at least you won’t be cold, right?_

But he knew to her, it meant so much more. He knew he probably wouldn’t understand the value it had to her fully for as long as he lived. 

Mikasa’s eyes fluttered open, and her face tilted up to meet his, eyes shining. He wrapped the scarf back around her neck without a word, and sat down on the bed beside her as she ran her fingers along the familiar fabric.

“Armin? And the others?” he asked, a tinge of desperation to his tone. Mikasa smiled gently. 

“They’re all fine,” she said. "Just some scrapes and bruises." 

A weight was lifted from his shoulders. 

“I’m glad,” he sighed. 

Mikasa stared at the floor. “Eren, I’m sorry,” she said.

Eren looked at her quizzically. “For what?”

“I feel so useless,” she said. “Mom told us to protect each other, but it feels like you’re always the one protecting me. Like you’re always running off and accomplishing great things while I can only sit by and watch.”

  
Eren stared at her for a moment, before reaching over and flicking her in the forehead. 

She let out squeak, taken by surprise, as she rubbed her head. 

“Don’t say stupid things like that,” Eren muttered. “If you hadn’t attacked Annie when I was down, who knows what would have happened? Besides, I’m the one who failed in the end."

She gave him a soft look. “They expect too much of you. You know that, right?”

Eren shrugged, and they sat in silence. 

“What did you mean,” he began, “When you said your feelings were different, back then?”

Mikasa’s brow furrowed, and then she stiffened as she realized what he was talking about. She hesitated. 

“I…” she mumbled. “I was just—”

“Mikasa,” he interrupted, and she met his gaze. “If there’s anything I’ve learned from Trost, and now this, it’s that we can die anytime,” he said. “Life is never guaranteed. So if you want something...don’t wait for it.”

Her breath hitched, and he waited patiently as she formulated a response. “Eren...you’re my entire world. I want to spend every day by your side,” she admitted, a blush adorning her face. “I love you. I always have.” As if a spell was broken, her eyes widened, and she tried to backtrack. “But I know, you probably don’t feel the same way,” she said, her voice wavering. “I don’t want to pressure you. Even if we’ll never be... _that,_ I just want to stay by your—”

He interrupted her again, this time by pressing his lips to hers. She sucked in a breath, muscles tensed in surprise, before she seemed to melt against him, eyes growing hazy. 

He broke away. “Don’t tell me how I feel,” he whispered.

And as she gazed at him, all the emotions she’d kept leashed over the years burst out of her, unfettered. 

It was his turn to be taken by surprise as this time, she crushed her lips against his, meeting him with primal fervor. 


End file.
